The Victorian Government has promised to implement an “agent-of-change” planning principle ahead of their announcement of a series of red tape reforms, which will provide certainty to live music venues that clash with new residents over who is responsible for amending noise complaints.
According to The Age, under the principle, whichever party changes the pre-existing conditions in the neighbourhood must foot the bill for soundproofing to solve the complaint. The common sense strategy proposes that residents who move into an area with existing live music venues would have to bear the cost of soundproofing, while if a venue began hosting live music events in an established residential area, it would have the responsibility.
Planning Minister Matthew Guy introduced the strategy in State Parliament late last year. “Whether it is through a state amendment or a local planning scheme amendment, we will find a way,” he said. “More to the point, we will find a way to give certainty to that industry and to that section of the population that enjoys what is one of Melbourne’s greatest tourism and cultural assets.”
The news comes just days after the Melbourne music industry warned live music venues will close up and move to Sydney unless changes were made to to protect pubs from noise complaints. The City of Sydney has also recently decided to speed up the implementation of reforms to live music policies, which included the establishment of a free mediation process to deal with live music noise complaints.
A government spokesman said planning was underway to enact the “agent-of-change” provisions as today the State Government gears up to announcing its 36 red tape reforms, promising to reduce costs for business and to simplify the process for small venues to host live music. The reforms also make allowances for Segway tours of Melbourne.
