Outcry over Buffalo Park Cricket stadium show
Noise levels anger residents in arena neighbourhoods
SUPAMEGA AKA treated East London party-goers and fans to a music extravaganza over the weekend at his concert at Buffalo Park Cricket Stadium – but residents in surrounding neighbourhoods were upset by the loud sound levels.
Residents in the Bunkers Hill area said their sleep was interrupted and it seemed as if the volume had been cranked up even more after midnight.
There were also reports of what sounded like gunshots fired, but police said they did not receive any reports of a shooting.
Dr Robyn Spring of Bunkers Hill said that at around midnight she thought her neighbours had started playing music but quickly realised the noise had been coming from Buffalo Park some 600m away.
“We are used to the noise over the festive season but even that is like background noise – but this concert was different.
“It was as if they had turned the volume up to the maximum after midnight because we could hear every word and lyric clearly. This was individual words and around 6am they were still going on,” she told the Daily Dispatch yesterday.
Spring, who is a gynaecologist at Life Beacon Bay Hospital, said she received a call from a nursing staff member on Saturday night and was unable to even make out what she was saying. “This was the worst it has ever been.
“We have had concerts at the stadium before but it has never been this bad.
“I got a call from a nurse because I was on call and I could not make out what she was saying. It was really bad – it sounded like the noise was right in my bedroom.”
Spring said she and her husband sat googling at around 2am on Sunday who to call for assistance.
Stirling resident Bev Cunningham said they woke up a few times during the night because of the noise.
“It was terrible. We have kind of reached a point now that when you know an event is taking place there you prepare yourself,” she said.
Cunningham said she feared for the festive season as parties could spill over into the problematic James Pearce Park, which borders her house as well.
Santorini Guesthouse in Bunkers Hill manager Isabel Groom said they did receive a few complaints from their guests on Saturday night.
“We also heard speeding of cars [as they] passed our guesthouse in the middle of the night which was bad,” she said.
Buffalo City Metro (BCM) spokesman Samkelo Ngwenya said the residents were well within their rights to call the authorities.
“There are operating times for noise levels which is agreed upon by either BCM or the stadium manager particularly if it is located in residential areas. For every event or concert the organisers have to comply with the Gatherings Act and adhere to specific criteria.
“We urge residents to contact their local authorities in the event this happens in the future or our call centre on (086) 111-3017 for assistance,” Ngwenya said.
East London police spokeswoman Warrant Officer Hazel Mqala was unable to confirm whether gunshots were heard.
“Nothing was reported to me.” —