To Quote Mandy Rice- Davies ....

" Well, they would say that wouldn't they ? "

Those of you in put in submissions opposing Plan Change 52 will be interested to read the Christchurch City Council Planners Review of  Submissions  ( see " Section 42A  Report" ). Sadly, no surprises in this report.

Hopefully you are working on your submission to present to The Commissioner .
We have just over two weeks to go .

Those of you who have lived in the area for over 10 years will remember  what it used to be like before 2002 - 2003 , back when noise was infrequent and acceptable . It is actually important that you bear witness to this . We have heard from Templeton Township residents, telling us that they moved to the area back then because it was quiet  and how angry they are that the noise has increased to the degree it has now. It is important to explain and demonstrate this in your submissions .

Interesting to see that a few people have mentioned the noise levels at the School and Kindergarten ( and let's not forget the local swimming pool ) in their Submissions . Only in NZ could children be  exposed to this kind of relentless noise while in a place of learning or recreation .

Good luck with your submissions , keep them as personal as you like, it is important that residents ( no matter how long they have lived here ) describe what it is like to try to live with this noise and the effect it has on their lives.

Do Mentally Ill People Not Matter ?

As noise from the track increases , locals continue to wonder and worry about the " Community House " for mentally ill people situated on Hasketts Road, virtually over the road from the racetrack .

While locals can ( and are often forced to ) leave home for the day , or the weekend ( or during the night when speedway is on ) the poor 'clients' in the Community House ( Birchwood ) are stuck there , forced to cope with noise levels way above recommended WHO levels .

Who is really looking after these people ? Are their families even aware of the noise that their children or siblings are forced to endure every day ? When a neighbour asked a staff member, back in 2008, how they coped with the noise the reply was " I don't have to live here so I don't worry " !

The property housing these poor people is closer than most of the other properties bought out by Council in 2009 . People living further away suffered hugely before they shifted away, depression was the number one illness amongst residents but we all know that 3 people from the other six bought out houses suffered strokes while living there .

Does anybody care about the residents of this " Community House "  or are they going to be added to the long list of people affected by a racetrack & Council which cares little for the surrounding community and is interested only in making as much noise as possible so as to try to prove and hold on to their " existing use rights " ?

Christchurch Press Editorial ( Courtesy Press Website )

The decision of the Christchurch City Council to buy noise-plagued houses near Ruapuna Raceway highlights a chronic problem. Noise is a major nuisance in cities worldwide and is not easily reduced, writes The Press in an editorial.

In this Christchurch instance, the solution has been direct and effective: the affected residents will have their homes bought by the council and thereby be freed to move without financial loss to quieter quarters.

In many cities, such generous intervention would be unthinkable. It would be too costly and politically unpopular. Even in Christchurch it is unlikely to be frequently repeated, for much the same reasons.

Public reaction to the purchase has so far been muted but is likely to grow. Christchurch ratepayers are sensitive to the council doling out largesse on such a scale, as the subsidising of Dave Henderson showed.

When citizens reflect on the amount being spent on the Ruapuna buyout, $5.3 million, and the amount paid for the Henderson properties, $17 million, their concern will increase. The track transaction is not trivial by comparison.

Also, it is of the same type as the Henderson deal public funds going to relieve the financial plight of private individuals.

The differences are that this latest subsidy was publicly signalled and not rushed. A working party considered the proposal. Ratepayers had a chance to express their opposition.

Many ratepayers will be sympathetic to the Templeton residents, understanding the degradation home life suffers if subjected to intrusive noise. Close to Ruapuna the noise is unbearably intrusive.

The residents also had a justified grievance in that the city council's easing of restrictions on the use of Ruapuna greatly increased the noise pollution emanating from it.

That easing was aimed at giving motorsport more access to the track, which is fair recognition of the popularity of car racing. But the reduction it would cause to the quality of life of close-by residents should have been recognised. Had it been, their years of suffering would have been lessened and this problematic purchase avoided.

That should teach the city council a lesson in recognising the growing antipathy of people to noise, be it in their homes, in workplaces or as they go about the city. Citizens are far less complacent than they were, recognising excessive noise as a significant pollutant that should be contained.

The council needs to respond more actively to this growing intolerance, with firmer restrictions on noise and a more vigorous response to breaches and to citizens' complaints.

A sign that the city council is taking up this challenge is its intention to seek containment of Ruapuna noise, even though the worst-affected residents will be moving out.

A remaining 19 households are recognised as being affected but have not been offered financial help. Their position needs to be attended to by lessening the intrusion of the racetrack.

The challenge for the council and the Canterbury Car Club is to balance the right of the sport to use Ruapuna against the right of residents to live without the prolonged and loud intrusion of revving engines and squealing tyres.

Ruapuna Noise Rules

Post 1999 Rules Set in place in the 1999 City Plan ( NO consultation at all with local residents )
(/ii) Ruapuna Raceway

Operational noise levels of 90dBA Lmax and 65dBA L10 (1 hour)
to apply between the hours of 0900 and 2200 hours on any day of the calendar year, except that:

.for up to 200 days in any calendar year, the permitted levels
shall be 95dBA Lmax and 80dBA L10 (1 hour), between the hours of
0900 and 2300;.for up to 15 of those 200 days, these activities shall be
permitted up to 2400 hours;

On up to 5 of those 200 days, no L _max level shall be applied.


Now - look at what the World Health Organisation says about Noise Management .
You might also be interested in these Australian Noise Rules which DO take the rights of residents into consideration. This is a short version of their rules