North Adelaide residents up in arms as loud college party rattles windows
Residents in prestigious North Adelaide are calling for help after a university boarding college dubbed “the party house” held a live music event so loud they feared for their “heritage windows”.
A university boarding college in North Adelaide is under fire from nearby residents who say they were pummelled by excessive noise from its recent Boon the Valley event held for its 199 student residents.
The sold out show was held at the university residential college that houses students from interstate, overseas plus rural and regional South Australia, between 8pm and midnight on March 14. It featured live bands and DJ sets with students celebrating on the college’s outside tennis courts where there was also a stage for artists.
Local Melbourne Street residents Andrea and Ian Renton – accompanied by two of their grandchildren – told an Adelaide City Council meeting on Tuesday night that the “mind-shattering noise” persisted throughout the night and the couple were subjected to an “unrelenting invasion” of their privacy.
Flanked by supporters, the two submitted a letter from 27 North Adelaide residents calling for assistance from council to “prevent the recurrence of excessively noisy outdoor events”.
“I require hearing aids and the burning low-level doof doof and high splitting sounds particularly irritate and make my tinnitus worse. Luckily, it doesn’t make me grumpy,” Ian Renton said.
“Sleeping with earplugs negates the purpose of fire alarms designed for our safety. These are all unsatisfactory remedies in a residential area with noise on a residential premise.”
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The North Adelaide residents claimed notification letters sent from the college on Friday, March 13, stated the City of Adelaide Council approved the event, which the council denied at Tuesday night’s meeting.
Andrea Renton said she was particularly worried that her “rattling heritage glass windows” would not withstand the noise.
“Could someone be trying to break in? We could not relax, hear the TV or even talk to one another without raising our voices,” she said.
“High noise levels such as those pummelled at the students and teenagers requiring supervision for their studies can impede hearing forever at levels of 103 decibels for periods greater than eight minutes.
“Our grandchildren are here today. They are our future, and we in no way wish them to learn to emulate the ways in which St Ann’s treat neighbours, nor do we wish their enjoyment of time with us to be prevented by such events.”
But St Ann’s College principal Wendy Fleming told InDaily the annual event had received the “appropriate” permits and approval.
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“One of the traditions of St Ann’s College is the annual Open Show, conducted with appropriate event permits and liquor licences as well as notification given to South Australian Police about the event,” Fleming said.
“Notification is also provided to neighbours about the event, including a contact phone number if there are concerns about noise levels or any other questions.”
Council confirmed that a short-term liquor license had been approved for the event by Consumer and Business Services (CBS).
Councillor Phillip Martin put forward a motion to advise CBS about the petition and to consult council about future outdoor events in North Adelaide and consider the residents when assessing future liquor licensing applications.
“This has been an ongoing problem for as long as I can remember, and Lord Mayor I can remember a long way back,” Martin said.
“This has indeed been regarded as the party house among residential colleges in North Adelaide.”
Council will also send a letter to St Ann’s College expressing “disappointment” that a communication recently circulated to North Adelaide residents “incorrectly claimed the event was approved by the City of Adelaide”.
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