Broadwater Parklands concerts spark fury among local residents who demand they be stopped
A series of sold-out concerts on the Gold Coast have left some locals furious, with council being asked to stop any more from going ahead. What do you think? Vote in our poll.
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People living near the Broadwater Parklands in Southport say noisy concerts at the venue are making their lives a misery and are demanding they be stopped.
In the seven weeks between Februray 24 and April 27 five major concerts took place at the park’s southern lawn featuring acts including Queens of the Stone Age, Suzi Quatro, Incubus and Alice Cooper.
Thousands attended the sell-out gigs, however they have raised the ire of residents including shift workers and retirees in nearby tower blocks, who say noise from events such as the Ultra Festival headlined by Armin Van Buuren on April 12, had been extreme.
“That one was really loud. It was probably the loudest one ever,” one resident told the Bulletin. “It was just horrendous.”
Some of the concerts had been moved from Doug Jennings Park on The Spit following concerns expressed by residents including the Main Beach Association about traffic chaos.
However the Southport resident, who did not wish to be named, said they were now bearing the brunt of the issues. They also questioned why Gold Coast nightclubs had to abide by strict noise rules while music festivals could happen so close to homes.
“The Queensland government has noise restrictions for licenced venues and they state that they must ensure noise coming from the premises does not impact negatively on local residents. Why are we not given the same consideration?,” they said.
“There’s no trees, there’s no buildings, it’s not a stadium so there’s nothing keeping the noise in. It just comes straight across on the breeze.”
They added that the noise pollution from the concerts didn’t end when the music stopped.
“It’s not just the noise from the actual concert. It’s the noise afterwards. People are flooding out of the concert to catch the trams, so there’s a lot of noise then,” they said.
“And for a week before and after you’ve got the banging and clanging from the construction of putting the stage and everything up and then taking it down.
“When I purchased my apartment I bought it with the knowledge I was buying a home opposite a park, not a live music venue.”
Southport locals, including many residents of the Meriton and Shores buildings which are directly opposite the concert location, have signed a submission submitted to council demanding that the concerts be stopped.
“We the undersigned respectfully petition Council of the City of Gold Coast to stop the southern lawn area of Broadwater Parklands being used as a live music venue for loud rock concerts, pop concerts and all types of music festivals due to the close proximity of residential buildings and the resulting noise disturbance,” the petition states.
A council spokesperson told the Bulletin that noise levels were monitered at all five recent concerts and were found to be within allowed limits.
“The event organiser must have an acoustic consultant onsite to monitor approved noise levels and to respond to any complaints. The City also monitors noise levels at all major concerts to ensure compliance with approved noise levels,” the spokesperson said.
“The City is satisfied with compliance with the approved noise levels.”
The spokesperson added that the southern lawn of the Broadwater Parklands was “a vital location for concerts” and said they did not normally take place so frequently.
“(They) are typically infrequent – 2023 had five concerts and 2024 will have less than seven,” the spokesperson said.
“The City monitors community tolerance to concerts regularly when assessing applications. Controls are put in place regarding hours of operation, pre-event community notification and restricting noise levels to assist in ensuring impacts are minimised on surrounding noise sensitive uses.”
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