Residents brace for all-night gospel concert

THE City has approved and will fund an all-night gospel concert and vigil at Curries Fountain on 18 March.

Ward 27 councillor, Martin Meyer, along with other ward councillors Jethro Lefevre and Nicole Graham have expressed their disappointment, saying when a similar event was hosted at Curries Fountain in 2015 it led to numerous complaints of noise from many residents across the Berea.

While the councillors acknowledge that people have the right to worship, they believe in this instance it is being done at the expense of the rights of others.

“The Berea is a wonderfully mixed area with people of all cultures and religions. While this is one of the characteristics that makes the Berea a wonderful area to live in, this also comes with its own set of challenges. It is thus important the rights of all residents be respected. A very loud event, the noise of which can be heard for kilometers away in Glenwood, violates the rights of resident, and violates the city’s own bylaws,” said Meyer.

The councillors say events like these should be held in venues that are sound proofed, like the ICC. They claim if events are held at Curries Fountain, residents in the area, which include students, young families and the elderly living in nearby old age homes are adversely affected.

“These events should end at a reasonable time, as prescribed in the city’s own Bylaw. Just recently a new Nuisance Bylaw came into effect, and then the very city that is the custodian and enforcer of this bylaw, agrees, and pays for, an event that will violate this bylaw. The DA maintains that the city does not have the right to violate its own laws, these laws must be binding on all,” said Meyer.

On Friday 4 March a similar event was held at Moses Mabhida, with Meyer receiving complaints from residents of all backgrounds from as far as five kilometers away. He said as Curries Fountain was more open than Moses Mabhida, the impact will be even worse. Unlike Moses Mabhida, Curries Fountain is right in the middle of a residential area.

He said when this matter came to the Community and Emergency Services Committee, the DA voted against it. It was not supported by the DA due to the impact it has on residents, as well as the DA’s stance that it is not the mandate of the city to spend money on events of this nature.

The councillors have appealed to the organisers and the eThekwini Municipality to reconsider the time of this event and rather end the music and noise generating part at midnight rather than allowing it to continue from 6pm to 6am.

Should the event go ahead, residents are advised to report noise disturbances to Metro Police at 031 361 0000. Residents must ensure they receive a reference number. This number can then be e-mailed to the councillors so that a record can be compiled of the number of complaints and number of people affected.

Contact details are: Glenwood and Umbilo – Councillor Nicole Graham – ward33@ethekwini.org, Musgrave and Sydenham – Councillor Jethro Leferve – ward31@ethekwini.org, and Morningside and Greyville – Councillor Martin Meyer – ward27@ethekwini.org.