RESIDENTS living in proximity to the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and further afield in Westville have slammed the noisy event held at the UKZN rugby field recently, saying they were not given pre-warning of the event which was hosted midweek by the SRC.
Complaints poured in from people living in Carrington Heights, Glenmore, Umbilo and Glenwood, with many posting their frustrations on social media.
Speaking to Berea Mail, Rick Turner Road resident Annette Whitfield said residents were usually told ahead of time if events were to be held on the university’s sports fields, however she was not aware that a function was to be held that night.
“I got home at around 5.30pm and I could hear music coming from the rugby field below our house. The music got louder and louder, and then a voice started shouting on a microphone, louder than the music and the drums. I wasn’t sure what was going on. When I asked on Facebook, residents said their windows were rattling because of the noise,” she said.
Whitfield was looking after her eight-year-old grandson that night and he couldn’t get to sleep. She had to put cotton wool in his ears and he eventually fell asleep at 10.30pm.
“He had a test the next day and we had to get to work. The event went on until 12.10am. Following this, cars leaving the event started doing wheelies in the road and the people walked down Rick Turner Road shouting as they went,” she said.
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Whitfield said when she called the university the next day she was given a number for someone to contact, however he did not answer his phone.
“It is not on that this was allowed on a weekday night. The varsity needs to take responsibility,” she said.
Carrington Heights resident, Karin Dreyer, said she couldn’t believe such an event was permitted during the week.
“It was pathetic! The shouting, the music, it was out of control. Residents should have been alerted. Student bodies should contact the CPF to let them know so this can be communicated to the community via social media and WhatsApp groups,” she said.
Resident Jackie de Gaye said not only humans had been affected by the noise. She had been told by the cat feeder at the Memorial Tower Building at the university that one of her cats had gone missing during the event, terrified by the noise. She said nearly half of the cats at two feeding stations at the university were not there at feeding time, and a resident dog at the university was also not seen.
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Glenwood resident, Annette Lee, said she had been a resident in the area for the past 50 years and had never experienced such loud noise, music and screaming.
“I live off Alan Paton Road which is approximately 5km from the university. It was impossible to get through to Metro Police because of the number of Glenwood residents that were phoning regarding the noise. It took me six phone calls to get through to them and to obtain a reference number. I confirmed with Metro Police on Thursday morning that the noise was coming from the university,” she said.
A resident who wished to remain anonymous contacted Councillor Mmabatho Tembe regarding the event. He said it was inconsiderate of both the university and the SRC to organise and arrange an event of this nature for the middle of the week.
“I did call Metro to complain about the noise at 12.15am. I am positive that numerous other people also called. I was told that they had been out but that it was an organised event, with permission given by SAPS. Again I find this totally unacceptable that someone actually arranged an event of this nature for the middle of the week, and that the authorities gave permission for an event of this nature to take place in the middle of the week. By allowing the event to continue as it did, the authorities, whether it be Metro, SAPS or the organisers, clearly failed and should be held accountable,” he said.
Responding to queries from Berea Mail, Parboo Sewpersad from Metro Police said he had no knowledge of the event, and that the organisers did not apply to Metro Police to host it.
Ashton Bodrick, executive director of corporate relations at UKZN said the UKZN SRC had held the event to celebrate the last day of lectures.
“Permission for the concert was given by the SAPS and all municipal by-laws were complied with. SAPS maintained a presence throughout the concert. It is regrettable that some of the residents in the surrounding area were disturbed by noise from the event as we place a huge importance on our relationship with the communities surrounding our spaces.”
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