Residents cry foul over noisy KFC
Fast-food hell at up-market flats in Umhlanga
ABOUT 70 residents of an Umhlanga apartment building may finally find relief from the noise generated by a nearby fast-food drive-through restaurant that has plagued them since 2011.
This comes after Jason Jamun, a member of the building’s body corporate, e-mailed the eThekwini municipality about the matter this week, following up on an initial complaint he made more than two years ago.
Jamun said the residents of Ridgeton Towers lost sleep because of the noise coming from a KFC that is part of the Coastlands Hotel next to their block.
He said the noise came from the store’s fume extraction system late at night and delivery trucks early in the morning.
A resident, who asked not to be named, said customers under the impression that the drive-through was open round the clock added to the late-night din.
“At night it echoes, so you can hear it when they hoot, they scream, they swear. They make a noise until three, four in the morning. It affects us because our bedrooms are there; our living rooms are there,” the resident said.
Jamun said residents initially complained to the municipality in October 2011.
The municipality sent out its health unit inspectors to assess the noise levels and confirmed that a “marginal noise nuisance” existed.
It served notice on the KFC outlet to make operational changes to reduce its noise levels.
Municipal spokesman Thabo Mofokeng said the municipality had found from its assessment that “the noise originated from two primary sources, the first being the fume extraction systems and the second being noise from delivery vehicles arriving at the premises from 6.30am”.
He said the owners had complied with a statutory compliance notice the municipality had served on them.
“The fume extraction system was modified and the noise emanating from there is no longer considered to constitute a nuisance,” said Mofokeng.
Delivery times were changed from 6.30am to 7.30am, he said.
However, Jamun said the modification of the extraction system had made no noticeable difference and that no follow-up assessments had been done to ascertain whether the noise levels had decreased.
Mofokeng said the municipality would follow up on the matter. He said the ownership of the drivethrough restaurant changed hands in June and delivery times reverted to 6.30am.
KFC restaurant excellence director Pieter Horne said the chain “takes these complaints very seriously”.
He said the matter was being investigated and an outcome could be expected this week.