Developers pay for acoustics - live music lives!

Reports of live music dying in Melbourne and moving to Sydney with the consequent loss of a Melbourne signature music scene came to a head in Brunswick last year where a local councillor intervened in a VCAT hearing to save an iconic local live music venue (The Melbourne Age, November 2013).

Possibly influenced by this, the Napthine government earlier this year pledged to implement an ''agent-of-change'' planning principle, providing certainty to existing live music venues faced with residential noise complaints. In many cases the agent of change principal would shift responsibility for financing acoustic controls to the complainants and free up live music venues from the expensive legal actions which were reportedly threatening the existence of the live music scene in Melbourne.

Challenges will remain with legislating and enforcing appropriate acoustic design in an environment populated by DIY over achievers inspired by The Block, professional builders renovating existing buildings with a view to retaining the rustic heritage look or even new buildings, professionally built, where budgets are tight and expert design, let alone expert acoustic design, is considered a luxury.

Nevertheless, the agent of change principle offers hope of a fair and equitable means of funding acoustic design. Good designs last the distance and offer more than compliance. Design can make the difference between satisfaction with a house, room or item of equipment and continual frustration - equating poor design with a kind of purgatory.

Good acoustic design may not eliminate noise altogether but it will eliminate it as far as practicable within a budget or technical restraints. The technology is available to effectively deal with most urban noise issues and acoustic design’s luxury status is changing.

Based on the rate of adoption of items such as central heating, air conditioning and spa’s and pool’s, once considered luxuries and now standard design features, good acoustics would appear to be an inevitable development.

Useful Information about VCAT

VCAT (the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal) independently reviews decisions made by councils about planning permit applications and other planning matters. The State Government appoints VCAT members who are qualified legal practitioners, planners and other specialists. VCAT conducts public hearings and considers submissions made by all the parties. VCAT makes its assessment of the proposal’s planning merits and decides whether a permit should be granted, and what permit conditions are appropriate.

An appeal to VCAT is called an application for review. The party making the application for review is called the applicant for review. One or more VCAT members hear the case and hearings are conducted in a structured, formal way. Courteous behaviour is required and people are not allowed to interrupt or ask questions during another’s presentation.

Although parties may be represented by a lawyer or planner, this is not essential and many permit applicants and objectors present their own submissions. An application for review involves all parties in a considerable amount of time, effort and expense, and, therefore, it should be considered carefully. A proceeding can only be stopped if VCAT agrees to it.