Community finding solutions for noise pollution
Coyotes Lounge, News Café and Zero 13 are the suspected culprits of the ongoing noise in the early morning hours.
MBOMBELA – After a spate of noise complaints throughout the city, a committee was formed which has vowed to end noise pollution. The committee was formed on Tuesday at a Community Police Forum (CPF) meeting. It identified the culprits of the excessive noise as Coyotes Lounge, News Café and Zero13.
Cllr Tersia Marshall said that she would also be of assistance, as she has handled a similar case before. “In ward 15 we had a church making noise. We monitored its activity and logged it. We built up a case and managed to stop it from making noise,” Marshall said. “But we cannot form a case if the community is not driving the issue.”
At the meeting Nelspruit Police Station commander, Brig Prince Hlupheka Ngobeni, that they are looking at reviewing liquor licences, as they believe that clubs that stay open past 02:00 could promote crime. He encouraged locals to log a complaint with the police.
“That is my job. Let me do my job. I am not afraid to walk in and speak to them,” he said. One of the many complainants, Erica Botha, took to Facebook and also spoke to Lowvelder about how the noise affects her.
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“This is now happening every weekend. We hear loud music until 04:00 every Sunday morning,” Botha said. “We cannot get any sleep – it does not matter if you drink sleeping pills or if you put earplugs in.” According to Botha, they investigated the source of the problem with a security company and after many nights of losing even more sleep they identified the culprit – Coyotes Lounge in Anderson Street.
Botha said that they live in Van Wyk Street and that the sound travels to them every weekend. According to Coyotes assistant manager, Obinna Nath, they are not the problem. “It is not us, I am sure of it,” Nath said, and added that they are a discreet business.
He said that they do have a licence to stay open until 04:00, but that they usually closed between 03:00 and 03:30, “and only when we have a function, otherwise we close no later than 01:00”.
News Café shareholder, Harris Zwale, also denied being the source of the noise. “We have been here for two years and have not had any complaints. It is only since Coyotes moved that people have started to complain.”
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Zero13 could not be reached for comment. However, complaints about its noise has reportedly decreased recently, and authorities reported that it was cooperating with the community, even closing at 01:00 during its recent birthday celebration.
“Something needs to be done. We cannot sleep anymore and it is starting to affect our whole psyche. A man living in our street even moved because of the noise,” Botha said. Marshall has made herself available to help locals pursue cases by referring them to the ward councillors in the area they live in or to assist in making a case. She can be reached at t.marshall33@icloud.com or 082-576-8889.
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