Hi Everyone,

Just an update I have received an email from the City of Sydney Council and attached it in this update. 

But I think it’s the same response to each individual complaint if you emailed the Lord Mayor or council before rather than addressing the points made out in the petition.

blob:https://www.change.org/d7334140-05ee-4bf3-ac89-1680ef4da027

I also have replied to the letter as following and asking for a proper solution as all the advice they gave out it’s been repeated and don’t have a permanent impact on the offensive noise issue we have. We will continue sending emails to council until they have come to the table with us for a discussion about a proper and permanent solution which is the goal of this petition from the beginning.

And Everyone please keep sharing and signing the petition, let’s spread out the words until things get done. 

Merry Christmas Everyone x

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Dear Lisa,

I appreciate your email; however, I believe the attached letter is responding to the individual noise complaint I wrote to the Lord Mayor Clover Moore back in September 2025 rather than addressing the points outlined in the ongoing petition, which happened after several complaints to Council from the residents around.

Petition Link: https://c.org/bvxBL9SSbM

I want to confirm that both of the Basket Ball courts and Tennis Court noise issues need to be addressed for a permanent solution.

There are a few points I would like to make as a resident living near the courts also on the behalf of all the residents that signed the petition. 

In the letter it mentioned: 

- Nuffield Park is particularly popular with young people and is also a popular meeting place for the local community. It is a place where people can socialise, play and exercise : 

We agree and 100% not against sports but requesting the courts to be transformed to different type of socialised space for community and balance the needs of all our residents for less noise like table tennis. A group of people have to endure and suffer from the offensive noise issues on a daily basis to exchange for group of people’s pleasure needs is not how a community should work and should come together. We need to find a good balance for all residents and that’s what the petition is calling for. 

Demand for basketball courts in our local government area is high but Demand for a peaceful days and nights are essential and should be put before hand. And 100% the current courts available nearby can accommodate these players. 

- The basketball court surface is nearing the end of its useful life, and we plan to renew it next financial year. In response to the noise complaints, we plan to upgrade the court with a rubber tile surface. The proposed rubber tile surface claims a 30% reduction in noise compared to typical concrete or asphalt surfaces:

Thank you for making this point and I have sent it to Lord Mayor in the email too but if we are looking at the location of the park, it’s arguable if it will help as you also agreed the noise barrier wall would be ineffective because of the height of the surrounding residential buildings in the letter. The sports courts right now are in the middle and has 4 sides facing tall buildings and apartments.

- We have also installed signs letting the public know court use is restricted to 8am to 9pm. We visited a local language college to relay residents’ concerns about noise from their students’ use of the courts. We asked the college to let their students know about the time restrictions. Rangers will be able to enforce this restriction:

These are sadly temporary fixes as people come and go randomly and in unexpected hours. The students are also come and go to the area and to the school and it’s also up to the college to let the students know about it then also up to the students if they want to follow the rules. No one can guarantee it. At the end of the day we are the ones who are paying council rates and suffer. 

I spoke to the complaint Handling Team officer the other day, The officer advised there is an Active complaint about the Nuffield Park noise as there are several people complaining about this issue, not just 1 person, he advised the Ref number is 3418 680 and they are sending rangers out to verify. So I can assume that the council is aware of the issue and so many people also have this issue. 167 people signed the petition at the time I wrote this email and it keeps increasing. 

Its important to note that I also spoke to the a Rangers Unit officer last week over phone and he’s aware of the situation, however from the ranger’s point of view, what they can do is only do more patrols for the park but it can be tricky as they can’t do every day due to their capacity and also only for some times like 15 mins where the players come play very randomly and at different times with different groups , the officer also agreed patrolling is not a permanent fix, right now they are doing patrols around the park from Thu-Sun and we still have the issues as the rangers come checks for 10-15mins and move to the next areas, then the people come play 1 hour after that for example, I have noted the noise diary up in the link.

The Rangers officer also confirmed that they witnessed people playing there making loud noise and what they can do in their capacity is patrolling which is not a permanent solution to stop this noise issue but it’s up to the city council directors.

For example: 

Thu 18/12/25 started to play at 9:40pm till late, making loud noise , called the council line and was informed over the line that there is an active  patrol on the day but still doesn’t work as the rangers cant just only watch the sport courts all the time and people they come and play in unexpected hours and randomly.

Same situation with police if we call them when things like this happen, I feel sorry calling them as they come, but then it’s back to square one the next day. 

2 years ago, from what I were told, a group of residents also tried to contact the council and looking for a solution but didn’t go anywhere as the Rangers came to check when nobody is there, and it’s also one of the reasons that lead to the petition this time as we feel the counciland city directors didn’t see the whole picture of offensive noise issues we are facing. It’s great that the Ranger Unit can witness and confirm that it’s happening this time. And it’s time to put a stop or a permanent solution for it. 

The issues are happening for YEARS and I’m sure the council is aware of it but instead of tackling the issues and supporting owners/ residents who are paying rates, council chose to either ignore or give comments/ advise which doesn’t lead to anywhere. The issue is still raised and circulated in the community. I wasn’t sure if you aware of it but many people have to sell their houses and move out of the area because of this noise issue, and it’s just sad and feel ignored as it’s obviously in your power to find a balance for the society and community in Zetland, which is the most dense in Australia. 

Please have a look at all the photos in the google link carefully, I hope that based on what we are experiencing and also facts about this local offensive noise issue, the city directors can raise this issue for a proper solution at the council table and support us for what a petition is calling for. 

Videos and Photos link: 

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Ashvpg0VtFBh6e3uQrVHuZodVFaDrFg7