Burwood: St Thomas Anglican Church taken to VCAT over noise
A furious reverend has slammed the actions of a council who took his Burwood church to VCAT after complaints “loud, aggressive” parish children were disturbing the peace.
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A Burwood church has scored a win over angry neighbours and Whitehorse Council after a long-running battle over noise complaints.
The council went to VCAT to secure an enforcement order against St Thomas Anglican Church, arguing the church had breached its permit conditions by allowing noise to “detrimentally affect the amenity of the area”.
But after assessing the site at 42-46 Station St and hearing from an acoustics expert, the tribunal refused to impose an order on the church.
And St Thomas Anglican Church Reverend John Carrick told Whitehorse Leader the council’s case against the church “was misconceived, groundless and should be an embarrassment to all concerned”.
The tribunal heard neighbours began complaining about loud noises after the church underwent a redevelopment in 2013, which included the addition of a courtyard.
A couple of neighbours told the council their health and wellbeing was affected by “loud, aggressive and disturbing” children’s play, “children screaming, shouting, squealing for hours on end,” and amplified outdoor music”.
A woman told the tribunal she initially complained to the council after she spoke to a parent about the noise coming from children in the courtyard, who then allegedly encouraged their child to make more noise.
“I am personally at my wits end with the noise frequency and levels,” she told the council.
The church and its courtyard are used for weekly morning playgroups, after-school care, Friday evening youth group, Sunday worship services in English, Mandarin and Cantonese, and special events including baptisms and Carols in the Courtyard.
The tribunal heard police were called to the church about noise produced by Greek dancing fitness classes held in its hall in 2015, but the classes had since stopped running.
The council pushed for the tribunal to force the church to install a 1.8m acoustic fence around the courtyard and implement a plan to manage the noise it created.
The tribunal heard a 2.5-2.8m acoustic fence had already been installed between the church and the complaining neighbours’ property.
When it handed down its ruling on July 29, the tribunal said the Greek dancing classes may have detrimentally affected the area’s amenity, but an order was not needed because they were no longer running.
The tribunal decided the church was not in breach of its conditions, agreeing all its activities were intrinsic or ancillary to it being a place of worship.
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Reverend Carrick said the church had repeatedly made efforts to reasonably accommodate the concerns of its neighbours.
“The VCAT case has cost St Tom’s a substantial sum, which has been raised by donations from our parishioners,” he said. “This case has also cost Whitehorse ratepayers substantially, with no benefit.”
He said the church would reimbursement for court costs from the council.
The council’s general manager city development, Jeff Green, said numerous neighbours had raised concerns about the noise coming from the church.
“The council takes complaints from its community very seriously,” he said.
Mr Green said the council always sought to resolve issues outside of the tribunal before going to court.
He said the costs for the court case were budgeted for within the council’s operational budget and would not be shared publicly.