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The Canberra Times
The Canberra Times
Alex Crowe

Canberra's biggest noise complainers revealed

Braddon resident Marty Black said without pubs and bars the suburb would lose its greatest appeal. Picture by Sitthixay Ditthavong

Braddon is responsible for the highest number of ACT noise complaints, with more than 160 made to Access Canberra in a single year.

The suburb's transformation from car yards to bars has seemingly hit a nerve for some residents, with 113 of the complaints made about music.

Resident Marty Black said without pubs Braddon would lose its vibrancy. They were the main reason he moved there three years ago.

"Some of the people who are complaining might have lived here 30 years, and it's definitely changed in that time, so I probably empathise with those people," he said.

"Anybody that's coming to live here right now should absolutely be expecting it."

Canberra's annual Groovin the Moo music festival got people angry across the capital last weekend, Access Canberra receiving 26 complaints.

Operators of the outdoor concert at Exhibition Park were limited to 20 decibels above the usual Sunday standard and were made to shut down at 11pm.

They were also required to hire an independent acoustic consultant to monitor noise from the concert to demonstrate compliance, a government spokesperson said.

Groovin the Moo was obliged to turn down the tunes at 11pm to comply with noise restrictions. Picture by Sitthixay Ditthavong

It is understood Watson residents - those closest to Exhibition Park to hear headliner Fat Freddy's Drop drop - were not among the complainants.

Access Canberra is not the only avenue for residents to log their frustration with the noise, ACT Policing responding to complaints when resources are available.

Police received an average of 75 noise complaints per month from across Canberra in the year ending in March. During that period, not one call resulted in a fine.

January had the highest number of calls to police of any month. And there's no prizes for guessing why.

Mr Black said embracing Summernats was the best way to come to peace with the fact there might be a bit more noise around.

"It's once a year and it's just something completely different from the norm," he said.

"It's a good little spectacle, it's good for Canberra, so we just go with it."

The suburb with the second highest number of music noise complaints in a year was Coombs with 60, while Harrison trailed well behind Braddon in third with 42 to Access Canberra.

The 12 months partly includes a period where Assembly still hosted live music in its beer garden. The busy pub has since brought its musicians indoors.

The Lonsdale Street venue closed its doors on a recent Friday while banned from serving alcohol after breaching its liquor licence multiple times for different offences, including failing to shut its doors to contain noise indoors.

Assembly's development application included a report recommending music only be played within the drinks establishment of a night-time when windows and doors were closed.

Bickering in Braddon hasn't historically only occurred between residents and establishments, either, with Tipsy Bull previously taking measures to quieten down Hopscotch Bar next door.

Mr Black, whose balcony faces BentSpoke, said inner-city living in any other capital was noisier than Braddon.

He said Assembly and other big events in the area would continue to make it a great place to live.

"If we didn't have those places, then Braddon would be dead," he said.

"You want people coming in, we want that vibrancy. So the downside is occasionally they'll stay open too late, but I think that outweighs the negative."

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