Noise nuisance no joke

The City of Cape Town has warned management to ensure that there is no noise from Joker's Sports Bar.

A Parklands man used evidence he collected and uploaded to YouTube to tackle a bar the City has now issued a warning to for making too much noise in a residential area.

Grant du Toit has accused Joker’s Sports Bar, in Parklands Centre on Link Road, of playing “excessively loud music over the weekend”.

Mr Du Toit lives in Central Park complex across the road and says sometimes the music is “unbelievably loud” and that it doesn’t help that their doors are always open.

He moved into the complex about six months ago and started picking up on the noise a few weeks in.

“I have spoken to several neighbours in the area, and they say it does affect them. I have asked why they haven’t reported it, and the responses were a mixture of ‘too much effort’, ‘fear of retribution’ and that speaking out will be ‘a waste of time’. “He said the disturbance was usually on Friday and Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons when Joker’s bar had karaoke.

“I want the owners to realise they are not the only people in the area. There are other people around them. It’s not a personal gripe but a health issue that’s not only affecting me but also others around me.”

He said he had called law enforcement several times but they had not come out.

Then a few weeks ago, Mr Du Toit made a video of the noise coming from the bar. He filmed several clips on different days at different times and uploaded them to YouTube.

One of the clips was taken from Mr Du Toit’s balcony and the music can be heard clearly coming from the pub on the other side of Parklands Main Road.

He also noted that the pub’s doors were always open.

Tabletalk went to Joker’s Sports Bar to give them a chance to respond to Mr Du Toit’s allegations, but a man who only identified himself as the owner refused to comment.

Suzette Little, mayoral committee member for area north, said a site meeting had been held with the pub owner and a centre management representative on Wednesday May 17, where City Health had explained “exactly what the owner is authorised to do”. The owner had agreed to abide by City regulations.

Asked if the bar had broken any noise by-laws, Ms Little said: “This seems to be the case when studying the video footage” but the City still had to confirm any violation through proper noise measurement.

She said the “situation will be monitored to ensure that all City regulations are adhered to.

“Effectively, they need to keep the noise levels down and ensure that the door and windows to the establishment remain closed to mitigate the impact of sound travelling,” she said.

Mr Du Toit said that since the site meeting, the bar had kept their noise levels to a minimum.