Should people who move into houses or apartments close to existing restaurants, pubs and live music venues be allowed to complain about the noise?

It is a key issue for the WA Government, local councils, venue owners and builders as infill residential developments mushroom in Perth's suburbs.

John Carey, MLA for Perth and a former mayor of the City of Vincent, said noise was a perennial issue.

And if you believe new residents should just accept the noise if a food or music was there first?

"Who was there first is not recognised in any regulation or legislation," Mr Carey told ABC Radio Perth.

John Carey says the laws governing noise need to be adjusted as the city develops. ( ABC News: Louise Merrillees )

Currently, rules around noise in residential zones are the same no matter where you are in the metropolitan area.

"After 7:00pm the level set is 55 decibels for residential areas," Mr Carey said.

"That's equivalent to light traffic or a busy office.

"Seventy decibels could be a very loud lawnmower or vacuum cleaner — it's not that loud."

Mr Carey said legislation needed to be changed so that some areas with long-standing venues were designated entertainment zones, where higher decibels are allowed and developers and residents must accept the noise.

But it is not a legislative change that can be made quickly or easily, he warned.

It would involve changing both environmental health and planning laws and would require extensive community consultation.

Sorry, this audio has expired Should residents be allowed to complain if they choose to live near a noisy pub?

It is an issue that Barry Jones, who co-owns five pubs around Perth, wants addressed sooner rather than later.

"It's not just an inner-city problem anymore," he said.

"Local councils are going to be looking to approve more infill in areas which were traditionally for commercial or retail use.

"Those areas often contain long-established licensed premises and built over 100 years ago.

"If the venue was there first, then you need to look at how we can make sure that people moving into the area are aware of the noise and that new developments are suitable to handle the noise."

Live music venues under threat

But even if new residents are aware that a venue exists when they move in, there is nothing to stop them complaining to their local council or the liquor licensing authority.

And if the venue is found to be making more noise than the law allows, it could be forced to close or change how it operates.

The Cottesloe Beach Hotel was the subject of complaints for years before it substantially modified its beer garden to reduce noise. ( Giulio Saggin, file photo: ABC News )

One of Mr Jones's venues, the Rosemount Hotel in North Perth, has been in operation since 1902 and often hosts live music.

A new apartment complex has gone up across the road, but the hotel's 115-year prior occupancy won't count for anything if residents complain about noise.

"When apartments are being built virtually on the doorstep of the hotel, at the Rosemount for instance, that is going to give rise to issues where we just can't operate in the manner that we have in the past if the law is unchanged," Mr Jones said.

Some councils have asked developers to install double glazing in new apartments but complaints still come in.

"The fact that you have double glazing on your windows doesn't mean you have to keep them closed," Mr Jones said.

"They can open the windows and call the health surveyor down and the noise will be found to be above the limit."

'You bought a place near a hotel!'

Most listeners who contacted ABC Radio Perth believe that if a venue was there first then residents should accept the noise, but object to previously quiet neighbourhoods being disturbed by new developments.

Jo: "You bought a place near a hotel! Chances are that hotel has been trading for years. You want to be hip and live in the city or vibrant part of town — this is part of it. Suck it up and wear earplugs."

Josh: "I lived in Aberdeen Street in Northbridge for 12 years and adored living there. Always marvelled at people whining about noise in the area; you did move into an entertainment precinct."

Anita: "You move into a place in 1964. Relatively peaceful ... you know about the Royal Show, exhibitions, home expo, speedway, but accept these and they become part of the scenery and the calendar. Fifty-three years later there are rock concerts over the road, with noise that rattles the windows and comes up through the floorboards."

Deborah: "There is definitely a difference between choosing to live near a pub or inner-city and complaining about the noise, and seeing your quite suburb turn into something you don't recognise."

Jason: "I find it really intriguing that when a pub has had a long, great history of live music, you would build significant apartment blocks where you are simply going to get a clash of lifestyles. I'm gobsmacked by it."

Agents of change

Mr Carey said he supported legislation similar to what had been introduced in Victoria, known as the agents of change principle.

"It protects first occupancy," he said, not just for hotels but also residents.

"If a hotel builds in a residential area it must comply with existing sound levels."

He said he was optimistic Perth could densify without losing great live music and pub venues, as long as the community was consulted.

"We need the community to understand that life is changing in Perth, and that means an adjustment to their lives.

"But we have to have that conversation, we can't just change the laws."