Common Room owner Gerard Barron announced he was taking down the live music venue's outdoor stage due to council-imposed noise restrictions after a noise complaint. Photo / Warren Buckland
Common Room owner Gerard Barron announced he was taking down the live music venue's outdoor stage due to council-imposed noise restrictions after a noise complaint. Photo / Warren Buckland
Popular Hastings live music venue and bar Common Room says it can no longer run its outdoor music events, because a complaint from a newly-built hotel in the area has invoked council noise restrictions.
But the owner of the Quest Hotel in Hastings says he does not want to see the stage shut down and he wants to speak with the venue owner about working together.
Common Room was first established in 2013 and often hosts artists from a variety of musical genres, including P.Digsss from Shapeshifter recently, with even Clarke Gayford enjoying a DJ set at the venue the day after his wedding to Dame Jacinda Ardern.
But bar owner Gerard Barron posted a video to the Common Room Facebook page on Friday announcing the outdoor stage was no longer viable due to a noise limit imposed by Hastings District Council (HDC).
“[Hastings District Council] in their infinite wisdom have gone and imposed a 50-decibel noise limit on us in the evenings after 10pm,” Barron said in the video.
He said 50 decibels was the same volume as a conversation or “light rain” and it would not be possible to run a live music venue if the limit was imposed.
According to HDC, the 50-decibel limit from 10pm to 7am is part of the existing district plan rules for Hastings commercial zones, which have been in place since 2015.
He said it was the first noise complaint his business had received in the 11 years it had operated.
Hastings District Council said the 50-decibel limit after 10pm for commercial premises like Common Room had been in place since 2015. Photo / Warren Buckland
“Like a lot of venues across the country, the gentrification of Hastings is in full swing and the first places to go are your live music venues, so cheers Hastings council for that,” he said.
“All the thousands of people that dance out here under the stars every summer and in the warm winter nights we get here in the Bay, it is no more.”
Barron told Hawke’s Bay Today he learnt of the noise complaint and the district plan restrictions about a month ago.
”By the look of this council plan there has always been [a noise restriction] but we’ve never had a problem,” he said.
He said the only way the garden bar and stage would be viable is if the council could give his business an exemption, but they had told him no when he asked.
He said he couldn’t run the risk of another complaint shutting down an event: ”If I’ve got a big out-of-town act and 250 people [are] out there who have all paid and we get another one of these [complaints] and they shut us down halfway through a gig, then that’s just going to be a riot.
”I’m in this position now where I either break the law and may or may not be okay depending on who is on the desk that night, or don’t.”
An HDC spokeswoman said the council had received one noise complaint regarding the Common Room in the past six months.
“Given there was only one complaint we have taken an educative approach, as we do in these kinds of situations,” the spokeswoman said.
Quest Hastings franchise owner Scott Bellingham said he had called the council after two complaints from guests about noise, but he does not want the stage to go. Photo / Warren Buckland
Quest Hastings franchise owner Scott Bellingham said he was caught off-guard by the news the outdoor stage had been shut.
Bellingham, who lives onsite, said he enjoyed music from Common Room but acknowledged he was obligated to act on complaints from guests.
He said there had been two complaints from Quest guests about noise from Common Room, specifically bass noise after 11pm that could be heard late even through double-glazed windows. One complaint was made in December and one in January, which he had passed on to the council.
Despite that, he did not want to see a major part of a live music venue shut down and was blindsided by Barron’s decision to mothball the outdoor stage.
“Many of our guests and staff members go to the Common Room,” Bellingham said. “The whole area adds to the vibe. Toitoi, Craft & Social [bar] have music playing.”
He said he had been trying to get in touch with Barron to discuss solutions.
“I’d love to sit down with him and go ‘Let’s work together’.
“If you’ve got DJ loud noise, give us the heads-up, then if I know we have a particular guest, say a working doctor or radiologist, we can put them on the other side of the building. We can even promote.”
Hawke’s Bay Today has approached Barron for comment.
Hastings District councillor Damon Harvey said Common Room was the catalyst for the transformation and success of that part of Hastings and it was strange the council would hobble the venue with a noise restriction.
“We want a vibrant CBD and the Common Room has been a key player,” Harvey said.
James Pocock joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2021 and writes breaking news and features, with a focus on environment, local government and post-cyclone issues in the region. He has a keen interest in finding the bigger picture in research and making it more accessible to audiences. He lives in Napier. james.pocock@nzme.co.nz
