Protect the Crown; Engage good planning; Commit to music action plan.

Over the past year there has been a surge of action around protecting and sustaining Dunedin’s live music infrastructure, based on widespread community involvement, and led by the group Save Dunedin Live Music. A series of noise complaints have closed, or limited the operation, of several Dunedin venues. Dunedin does not have planning measures in place to allow for vibrancy in its inner city. With the DCC, we commissioned an independent expert planner who made recommendations on how to address the issues in Dunedin. However, these have not been adopted, and moreover, the council has not indicated when and/or if they will consider his recommendations. 

Most recently, the Crown is being threatened by residential developments next door. In Dunedin, despite being in the ‘inner city’ zone where entertainment venues are permitted, the acoustic insulation requirements are extremely modest for new developments, and the resource consent to build was not publicly notified. It is unlikely that our inadequate regulations will prevent tensions between the venue and the residents of the new build. 

We, the undersigned, demand that the DCC

1.     Protect the Crown in any way possible through liaising with the developer and/or assisting the Crown itself.

2.     Acknowledge that the current issue is indicative of a broader problem – the failure of the 2GP (Dunedin’s planning framework) to effectively balance the tensions of residential living and music in a vibrant and growing city; and to take action to remedy this failure by considering variations to the 2GP.

3.   Continue its commitment to a music action plan and to deliver on it in a timely and transparent fashion. While there has been excellent work to date, we wish to see it presented to the community and for work to begin.

We are demanding action on these three points, as it is absolutely crucial to  get protections in place before the last remaining venues in Dunedin are crushed under the weight of a growing city.

If the DCC want a vibrant and exciting music scene to exist in the near future they have to make it part of the city plan and create conditions where music venues and events can thrive.

The DCC has to Plan For Noise.