‘Loud’ Centurion concert says it had all the right permits
Residents were informed of the show, says organiser.
The organiser of a “loud” music concert, which had nearby Centurion residents up in arms recently, said that the event was within normal levels as per environmental health standard regulations.
“An acoustic consultant was appointed to monitor noise levels throughout the evening,” said The Rocking the Daisies festival organiser Shannon Valstar.
Residents complained that the event held at SuperSport Stadium on Sunday, October 9, was too noisy and went on for too long.
“A noise exemption was applied for and approval was given by the authorities to host the concert till midnight,” said Valstar.
She also dismissed accusations that residents weren’t notified beforehand of the concert.
They were notified both electronically and via the local ward councillor, according to Valstar.
“An SAPS VoC commander was in charge of the event and an event safety and security planning committee was appointed to oversee the event,” she said.
All safety, security, medical, TMPD, environmental health, disaster management and fire safety roleplayers were also present.
Valstar said the event had all the necessary documentation such as a permit from the Tshwane municipality as well as a medium-risk categorisation from the SAPS.
Residents, however, felt differently.
Resident Amanda Venter told Rekord that she “wanted to see whoever approved that the concert be held on a Sunday”.
“It was so unnecessary to play the music so loud. We couldn’t even hear ourselves properly. We could hear the music in our bedrooms. I am even too angry to comment now,” she said.
Resident Petrus Esterhuyzen echoed Venter’s sentiments as well, saying that he lives 2km away from the park but he could hear the noise all the way from the concert.
Esterhuyzen told Rekord that he couldn’t even hear a television set in his own house.
“I am not very happy because it played on until midnight.
“Other residents also complained about the noise – and that’s not acceptable.”
Esterhuyzen further said people had to get up early to go to work on Monday morning.
“The event was very invasive. We were not made aware of the concert or anything. With the air show, it was different. We were given flyers informing us about it and at about 18:00 they were finished.”
Metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said it issued the event organiser with the permit after it was satisfied with the event’s detailed plan.
This plan included a noise exemption permit and many other compliance requirements, public liability, a medical operational plan, and a security plan.
Local ward councillor Gert Visser confirmed that the concert organisers did have permission from the metro, adding that all paperwork was done accordingly.
“Permission was granted by the metro to host the concert after due process had been followed,” Visser said.
Meanwhile, SuperSport Park CEO Dr Jacques Faul apologised to residents for any inconvenience.
“We take residents’ concerns to heart – it’s not something we take lightly.”
Faul said that he had several meetings with the community forum to come up with ways how things could properly move forward.
“We will follow up with the sound engineer to get an idea of how the level of sound can be improved.
“It is also difficult to assess how many people were discomforted by the concert, but we do feel it’s something we need to consider and we are sorry.
“We also appreciate that Sunday is not a good day for it, and we take note of that. Many people we have spoken with told us that Saturdays were fine but Sundays were not good.”
He, however, said residents were informed via the Doornkloof community forum about the concert and when it was scheduled to finish.
ALSO READ: Centurion residents livid over ‘noisy’ late-night concert
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