#1012
Post
by d3v310per » Fri May 24, 2019 10:55 am
Managers of a city apartment building say noise from an adjacent building site is costing them tens of thousands of dollars in lost bookings and discounts and putting “immense” pressure on its staff.
Mansions on Pulteney apartments installed professional sound monitoring equipment on its premises to record construction work of the neighbouring $200 million Realm Adelaide.
The Advertiser reported in February that Mansion’s owner La Loft Apartments had claimed the disruption had cost in excess of $110,000 owing to lost trade and cancellations by disgruntled guests.
Adelaide City Council says it has fined and issued formal warnings against Realm builders Maxcon for acting outside of their approvals and is seeking “legal advice” on how to further manage breaches.
The council refused to specify what the breaches or fines were, citing confidentiality. On-the-spot fines can range from $500-$750, while court imposed penalties can range from $10,000 to $50,000.
La Loft management has sent video and audio recordings to authorities and The Advertiser showing what it says are workers on Realm repeatedly starting work before 7am.
La Loft general manager Simon O’Callaghan said results of two-week professional noise monitoring by consultancy Resonate should be ready by the end of the week.
“We are underperforming massively, just the level and pressure on staff is immense, they really don’t know what to do,” he said. “I’m trying to play nice with council but if we get a dramatic report that comes back from this noise logger showing a high level of disturbance, and council does nothing, we will be on the attack.”
La Loft revenue manager Richard Pearce raised three incidents with authorities this month, including what he believed was unauthorised work on Sunday, May 5.
“This morning my reception staff faced a procession of complaints many of which will result in cancelled bookings, discounted rates and or refunds,” he wrote in an email to council’s inspection team and the SA Small Business Commissioner John Chapman.
“I fear that I will be out of a job soon if Maxcon are not pulled back into line and they just continue to do whatever it takes to complete the project with little regard to their neighbours,” Mr Pearce wrote. Mr O’Callaghan said he had made repeated requests to the council for a copy of Maxcon’s construction environmental management plan, governing the hours of operation and noise and dust control measures without success. The council’s acting director community, Vanessa Godden, said the council undertakes “appropriate enforcement” when “sufficient evidence of breaches exist and action is required”.
The Advertiser sought comment from Maxcon and Realm Adelaide.