Noise goes on after 4am

I AM writing to express my anger at how insensitive and inconsiderate a church can be towards its neighbours and the neighbourhood as a whole.

I cannot tell you which church it is, but for the fact that it is in the vicinity of Strand Hardware in Govan Mbeki Avenue. It is not the church operated above Strand Hardware.

During the afternoon on New Year’s Eve, we witnessed what was testing of additional sound equipment to further enhance the already excessively noisy sound systems that have been in use for a while now.

I did call 10111 in the late afternoon, as the volume had got to a level that it reverberated throughout my house and it was impossible to hold a normal conversation.

The operator at the emergency number was very helpful and arranged for a van to visit the culprits. Unfortunately, nothing changed.

Early in the evening, the “broadcast” sounded more like a radio broadcast from a KZN radio station about a commission that would be looking into the management, control and running of churches in South Africa.

At 2.25am on New Year’s Day and unable to sleep, I contacted 10111 again, who again promised to send out a van to attend to the noise.

Nothing happened and the noise continued at the same level that it had been all afternoon. It went on until after 4am. We have been very tolerant in accepting the noise coming from churches in our area, which on a normal day is excessive, with whistles blowing, bells ringing and out-of-tune chanting, often interspersed with shouting from a minister who expects a response from his congregation.

This is most inconsiderate, particularly as law enforcement authorities were unable to do anything about it. What can one do?

Rodney, Port Elizabeth