Story by Amy Ridout/Stuff.
A couple who live beside a church say late-night music, shouting and drumming is making their lives a misery.
When Morris and Jessica first viewed their apartment on Auckland’s Dominion Rd last July, they took note of the Dominion Tongan Methodist Church next door, where a sign advertised daytime services on Wednesdays and Sundays.
But after they moved in, they realised the church hosted gatherings most nights. And two or three times each week, the noise is loud enough to keep their 4-year-old son awake, they say.
“We hear the band, music, we can hear the drums. Sometimes you’re trying to get to sleep and you hear yelling outside,” said Jessica.
An Auckland Council spokesperson said nine individuals had made 39 noise complaints about the church in the last two years.
These included reports from Morris and Jessica, who sent Stuff a log of complaints sent to the council and the church, and time-stamped videos capturing the noise that started in the church and spilled out into the car park.
One video captures the excitement during a football game: hours of car horns and shouting.
The noise impacts the family most between 9pm and 11pm. Their son, whose bedroom faced the car park, bore the brunt, the couple said.
Emails to the church had mostly gone unanswered, but that since they began complaining there had been some improvement, they said.
They had considered moving, but said it would be difficult because they had signed a two-year rental agreement.
“I hope we can solve this problem so we can keep living here, but we might have to move out,” said Jessica.
Reducing the number of events or having someone supervising people in the car park could help.
“We know the church might take some actions but they can’t control every single individual. Some people just yell and don’t care about other people.”
Methodist Church of New Zealand general secretary Rev Tara Tautari said she was aware of concerns and the church was engaging “openly and constructively” with the council.
“This is a long-established congregation with a vibrant faith community that cares deeply about its place in the wider community.
“Rev Kuli Fisi’iahi, who has recently been appointed to the parish, is working in good faith with those involved to listen carefully, build understanding and support a peaceful and practical way forward.”
The couple confirmed they had complained to the council several times. They believed noise control officers were slow to attend and felt frustrated by the limited enforcement.
They had also approached councillors, including Christine Fletcher.
Fletcher told Stuff she was aware of the complaints and was waiting to hear more from staff.
She said council lacked the resources to enforce every infringement, be it noise or dog control.
“It can be very hard for people to get the responses they want.”
However, Fletcher said she has dealt with similar issues in the past, and felt hopeful that a solution could be found for a church she considered an important place for the Tongan community to gather, socialise and sing.
Veronica Lee-Thomspon, the council’s special operations manager for licensing and environmental health, said the church had been issued with one “excessive noise direction“ in the past two years.
Such a direction requires excessive noise to stop for eight days.
Officers found the other complaints were either not excessive, or were withdrawn by the complainant.
The complaints, which concerned “music and people noise” were assessed by a noise control officer, under Resource Management Act provisions.
“When forming their opinion, the officer will consider the time of day or night, the nature of the noise, the location (a commercial versus a residential area) and the volume of the noise including any special characteristics such as bass.”
However, in light of the complaints, the council planned to take a closer look at whether the church’s activities complied with the Auckland Unitary Plan rules that set out how much noise an activity is allowed to make.
This article was first published by Stuff.
