Waldorf Wankers Whingeing (Still)

I miss Toast. Screw you, Waldorf 🙁

Here’s a blurb from their website:

Millie, I’m not sure how long you’ve been in Canberra the Terrace Bar was around well before the Waldorf. Whether you’re converting an existing structure or building from new, the Waldorf should have ensured appropriate soundproofing based on the fact that the place is:

“centrally located in the heart of Canberra City CBD” …. “within easy walking distance of exploring the myriads of shops, the main Canberra Shopping Centre, boutiques, restaurants pubs and bars, plus the culture and excitement of the Canberra Theatre Centre across the road.”

What d*ckhead ever thought this location was going to be nice and quiet on a Saturday night?

When doing sound measurements for a DA application, there should be a requirement that sounds levels are also taken at night, on a weekend. Preferably somewhere in the middle of the local clubs operating hours, then again around closing time.

I remember sneaking into the Terrace Bar with my ratbag mates as a 17 year old (many years ago now) to drink a beer and listen to local metal acts.

Awesome.

millie said :

Some people seem to think the live music was there before the Waldorf – not so. The Waldorf was the old Westpac Bank and the Waldorf’s foyer was once the Singapore Airlines office. When the Waldorf was built there was no live music venue in the area.

Nope.

There was live music playing in that area a looooong time before the Waldorf.

Terrace Bar anyone? God I loved that place.

Picketer, you’re wrong. The Waldorf was converted in 1999. A few years after that they expanded buy building a back packers hotel opposite their current site.

Millie, you’re completely missing the point – the apartments were created only a few years ago, when the live music scene was well established. Sure, there were commercial premises there but there was never an issue between those land uses.

There is now.

Some people seem to think the live music was there before the Waldorf – not so. The Waldorf was the old Westpac Bank and the Waldorf’s foyer was once the Singapore Airlines office. When the Waldorf was built there was no live music venue in the area.

Jim Jones said :

georgesgenitals said :

Jim Jones said :

georgesgenitals said :

It’s a nice whinge, but like the OP said, it’s been discussed before and nothing’s changed. Sure, ‘live music’ was there first, but it’s still bloody noisy for people trying to sleep there. Don’t forget, quite a few units there are serviced apartments, so the people sleeping there will often be visitors to Canberra without the benefit of local knowledge.

If you book a serviced apartment in the middle of Sydney, you know what to expect. I know that Canberra isn’t exactly in the same league – but it’s the same kind of principle.

You can’t expect to live or stay in the centre of the city without there being some noise.

Absolutely. The question is whether you are experiencing ‘some noise’ though, or a loud enough thumping that precludes all but chemically induced sleep.

Agreed.

However, I would state that if the noise is so loud that it precludes sleep, then the onus be on the apartment owners to supply adequate sound proofing, rather than forcing entertainment venues to shut down.

I spend a lot of time in serviced apartments in the Sydney CBD, and they’re very well soundproofed (you’d be crazy not to). I suspect that the Waldorf (and other inner city apartment complexes) has skimped on this and is looking to force venues to close rather than do what they should have done in the first place and properly soundproof their apartments.

I also spend time in Sydney for work, and the apartments there are definitely better soundproofed, and that does make a lot of difference.

Exactly JJ and Buzz. It just needs the stroke of a (ACTPLA) pen and the problem is solved.

Well, unless the buildings are certified by one of the many dodgy certifiers who are paid by, and captive to, the developer. What a bunch of shonks they are (developers and certifiers, that is).

Right Jim Jones … plenty of other cities manage this issue through proper building design and soundproofing enabling bars and residents to coexist.

Having made the poor decision to purchase sub-standard apartments, Waldorf residents now want pre-existing businesses around them to quieten down or shut up shop so they can ensure their property value keeps growing. What happened to the principle of “buyer beware”?

Its about zoning and building design regulations. I have no sympathy for the Waldorf. They should have constructed a sound proof building if they wanted to set up shop in the inner city right next door to these pre-existing businesses. Why should venues constantly comply with increasingly prescriptive laws when they are not in a residential zone? It spells the end of a vibrant inner city area if Waldorf wins this battle.

georgesgenitals said :

Jim Jones said :

georgesgenitals said :

It’s a nice whinge, but like the OP said, it’s been discussed before and nothing’s changed. Sure, ‘live music’ was there first, but it’s still bloody noisy for people trying to sleep there. Don’t forget, quite a few units there are serviced apartments, so the people sleeping there will often be visitors to Canberra without the benefit of local knowledge.

If you book a serviced apartment in the middle of Sydney, you know what to expect. I know that Canberra isn’t exactly in the same league – but it’s the same kind of principle.

You can’t expect to live or stay in the centre of the city without there being some noise.

Absolutely. The question is whether you are experiencing ‘some noise’ though, or a loud enough thumping that precludes all but chemically induced sleep.

Agreed.

However, I would state that if the noise is so loud that it precludes sleep, then the onus be on the apartment owners to supply adequate sound proofing, rather than forcing entertainment venues to shut down.

I spend a lot of time in serviced apartments in the Sydney CBD, and they’re very well soundproofed (you’d be crazy not to). I suspect that the Waldorf (and other inner city apartment complexes) has skimped on this and is looking to force venues to close rather than do what they should have done in the first place and properly soundproof their apartments.

Jim Jones said :

georgesgenitals said :

It’s a nice whinge, but like the OP said, it’s been discussed before and nothing’s changed. Sure, ‘live music’ was there first, but it’s still bloody noisy for people trying to sleep there. Don’t forget, quite a few units there are serviced apartments, so the people sleeping there will often be visitors to Canberra without the benefit of local knowledge.

If you book a serviced apartment in the middle of Sydney, you know what to expect. I know that Canberra isn’t exactly in the same league – but it’s the same kind of principle.

You can’t expect to live or stay in the centre of the city without there being some noise.

Absolutely. The question is whether you are experiencing ‘some noise’ though, or a loud enough thumping that precludes all but chemically induced sleep.

It’s not rocket science to canvas the neighbourhood and find out what, if any, noise issues there may be.

People who move into noisy places deserve what they get.

georgesgenitals said :

It’s a nice whinge, but like the OP said, it’s been discussed before and nothing’s changed. Sure, ‘live music’ was there first, but it’s still bloody noisy for people trying to sleep there. Don’t forget, quite a few units there are serviced apartments, so the people sleeping there will often be visitors to Canberra without the benefit of local knowledge.

If you book a serviced apartment in the middle of Sydney, you know what to expect. I know that Canberra isn’t exactly in the same league – but it’s the same kind of principle.

You can’t expect to live or stay in the centre of the city without there being some noise.

It’s a nice whinge, but like the OP said, it’s been discussed before and nothing’s changed. Sure, ‘live music’ was there first, but it’s still bloody noisy for people trying to sleep there. Don’t forget, quite a few units there are serviced apartments, so the people sleeping there will often be visitors to Canberra without the benefit of local knowledge.

Nah, I think Deadly is off the mark here. I do appreciate that it is difficult for prospective buyers to get a full understanding of the ambient noise levels prior to buying an apartment. But this is where you would hope common sense might prevail and the prospective buyers would at least make some sort of effort to accept the responsibility of finding out for themselves what the noise might be like.

I know it may not be possible to get a full understanding, but as has been highlighted, you can’t take the word of a real estate agent in this context. A simple grasp on reality might also revel the high likelihood that living across the road from a live music venue in the middle of the city might bring with it some noise concerns.

It’s not bloody rocket science; why must we continue to pander to the people who cannot accept responsibility for their purchasing decisions. True, there may be occasions where the full facts of a property purchase are not known until after settlement. However, buying a unit over the road from a music venue and then complaining that the venue is noisy is not one of them.

Sure, it is hard to gauge true noise levels however just standing on the corner near the Waldorf and looking around should give a fair indication that it isn’t going to be be silent and peaceful. There are bars and back packers and traffic and heaps of people. Only an idiot would expect to move in and have tranquillity. If you want that, move to the country. If you want the hustle and bustle of living in a city, move to the city and stop crying like a whiny little b*tch when the sounds of a vibrant city life disturb the life you knew you were getting!

DeadlySchnauzer, it isn’t rocket surgery, FFS. All they need to do is take a walk along the prospective street a few times at night, particularly Fridays and weekends, (said gigs are usually at night, after all) before buying an apartment there. Any noise should be quite evident. IMHO anyone whinging about this after the fact is an idiot and should have done their research first.

After a year of living in Sydney (Hurstville region) with my bedroom windows open wide all night I am no longer woken up by any of the following:

– 3am street sweeper vehicles crawling past at least once a week (seems like a silly time to do it, the street is lined with cars!)

– pub brawls and other drunken antics with associated shouting

– gunshots (allegedly)

– fire trucks regularly leaving the fire station (100m from my bedroom) with sirens and lights on

Ignorance is bliss 🙂

Deadly, you’re right to a limited extent only. An apartment block right in the middle of a busy city next to all sorts of venues should ring all sorts of alarm bells, so to speak. Anyone sensitive to noise levels such as this should carry out proper due diligence.

A search on RA, for example, will show that this has been discussed before.

There’s no lack of information available to anyone who wants to check it out first.

Personally, I would never want to live there, because you’ve just got to walk down the street to get a pretty good idea of what it would be like.

I would tend to agree, but I think there is one caveat you have to acknowledge. It’s very hard for prospective buyers to get a true idea of noise levels before moving in. You can be guaranteed that any real estate agent selling inner city apartments will spruik the hell out of the fact that “oh this apartment is fully noise insulated, its so quiet in here etc”. And you can also be sure that the specific times the apartment is open and on display prior to sale will be during “off peak” noise times. Unless buyers are allowed to camp out in an apartment over night for a few days, it will be almost impossible for them to get a true idea of the noise levels they are buying in to.

This is where the whole “oh people knew about the noise and moved in anyway” argument breaks down. And its one that is very hard to address (unless perhaps we start introducing compulsory noise reports along with building inspections).