While the idea that outdoor music festivals make a fair bit of a racket could probably be filed under ‘No Shit, Sherlock’, the owners of Splendour In The Grass are smarting, after being fined for excessive noise levels at this year’s festival.
ABC News report that staff from the NSW Department of Planning, much like the anti-fun villains of an ’80s teen movie, attended the festival at its North Byron Parklands venue this year, and were not pleased with what they observed.
Although the found that Splendour’s organisers had “taken steps to minimise noise and vibration”, excessive levels were still recorded. They issued a fine of $3000.
Matt Morris, the general manager of the North Byron Parklands site, is angry at this decision, and says that Splendour has been forced into “unworkable” conditions by noise restrictions which are “much tougher” than those imposed on other outdoor venues.
“The Planning and Assessment Commission took it on themselves to impose their own conditions and set limits that are entirely unworkable,” he told ABC News
“Unfortunately what that’s meant is that the venue and the regulator have been struggling with how to try to achieve these really unachievable sound limits.”
According to Morris, Splendour was found to be in breach of its noise criteria prior to any acts even coming on stage. “So that gives you an indication of how tight and unworkable during winter these particular settings are.”
Organisers of the festival, which set up at its permanent North Byron Parklands site last year, have reportedly lodged a request to have the conditions of their approval modified.
Johnny Law has been all in in Splendour’s grill of late. In addition to the fine for noise, police at this year’s festival seized a record quantity of drugs from punters.
Photo: Marl Metcalfe via Getty Images
