Curb rowdy hall: plea

By Casey Neill
UPWEY residents say the town’s community hall is a source of anti-social behaviour and excessive noise.
Shire of Yarra Ranges councillors responded to a petition on the issue from local residents at their 11 March meeting.
Five neighbouring residents of Upwey Community Hall presented the petition to councillors on 12 February asking them to change conditions for hiring out the venue.
Changes suggested in the petition included that music be shut off at 11pm instead of midnight and that a $500 fine for patrons who break the conditions of hire be enforced.
Local resident Brian Dance said anti-social and violent behaviour was tied in with the noise issue.
He said it was not just the music that was causing a problem, but the behaviour accompanying it.
“The council had previously side-stepped the issues,” he said.
Mr Dance said the noise from the hall on Friday and Saturday nights went ‘far beyond’ 11pm noise limits.
He has installed 18mm thick wall cladding and laminated windows on his home to help reduce the amount of noise that can be heard inside.
Mr Dance said there was yelling, screaming and fighting outside the hall once or twice a week.
He said the laneway leading to the nearby maternity facility was damaged every week, with broken glass making the area dangerous for mothers and their children.
He is ‘living in constant fear’ of the drunken state of hall patrons.
“Our major concern is that it is not supervised,” he said.
On 5 January this year, Mr Dance said all doors to the venue were open and music was being played loudly.
“I was brave and asked them to close doors because our children couldn’t sleep. A big bloke scoffed at my suggestion and laughed before he closed the doors,” he said.
But the doors were reopened at 9pm, Mr Dance said.
Between 1am and 2.30am that night a man revved the engine of his motorcycle outside Mr Dance’s home.
“With all respect, I ask council to put in practical risk management as a solution for the hall,” he said.
Councillors determined that shire officers would continue to monitor the situation and liaise with local police regarding any problems.
However, councillors also expressed their desire to establish harsher penalties for those who break the venue’s rules of hire.
Cr Ken Smith said the bond set-up should be looked into and maybe increased.
“We should impose heavier fines,” Cr Terry Avery said.
“This is an atrocious situation that residents have had to put up with for far too long,” Cr Samantha Dunn said.
Council took over management of the hall in June 2004.
Since then, 18th and 21st birthday party hirers have been required to register with party safe and pay an extra $800 on top of the standard $200 bond.
These birthdays make up more than one-third of the total bookings for the facility.