The right venue would resolve noise complaints

Once again there is uproar over the noise pollution in Richards Bay on Saturday night, emanating from music functions at Pelican Island and the central sports complex.

Resident of Veldenvlei and Meerensee flooded social media with angry comments about having to leave for work in the morning after being deprived of a whole night’s sleep.

A combination of excessive music volume and long hours led to questions about the planning process: did the authorities give consent to the events continuing through the night?

If so, this was both highly irregular and a slap in the face for the residents of those suburbs; if not the case, the organisers should pay hefty fines for exceeding the stipulated time limit.

Naturally, people are calling for such events to be scrapped or better controlled.

Forget it! Nothing has changed over all the years these concerts have been held, despite all the complaints.

The fact is, there is nothing wrong with these events, per se.

Youth must have entertainment and musicians must have an audience.

The problem is the venues. A sensitive ecological area like Pelican Island is a bad place for a show; and a residential suburb that includes an old age home is also a no-no.

There is a perfect venue, one that will satisfy all sides of the debate, namely the ZCBF Showgrounds.

It has a built-in stage, arena and seating. It also has toilet facilities. And it doesn’t create traffic jams.

It is baffling why this municipality-owned venue is never considered for events that attract masses of people.

Its very name speaks of numbers and entertainment and it used to host the huge Zululand Trade Fair and many other large gatherings.