SOUR NOTE: The residents of this Tilford St house are not in tune with their neighbours' desire for quiet.

Christchurch's rowdiest house, known for late-night drumming sessions, is infuriating neighbours.

However, its occupants remain unrepentant.

Information supplied to The Press by the Christchurch City Council under the Official Information Act show 71 complaints were made about the noise coming from a Tilford St house in the 12 months to October 31 last year.

Broken fence pailings, a dented letterbox and broken glass lying in the cracked concrete driveway point to prior disorder at the beaten weatherboard home, situated on what appears to be a quiet tree-lined street in Woolston.

The council would not name the exact house but a handful of Tilford St residents believed their neighbour was the culprit.

One of the house's two occupants, 16-year-old Shadow Virtue-Paul, confirmed it this week.

"Most people wouldn't like it, but I like it. It's fantastic," Virtue-Paul said of his house being the city's most complained about.

"We've thrown a few parties. We had 300 to 400 people here on New Year's Eve."

He said he kept the excessive noise notices issued by the council on the wall in the garage.

He played the electric guitar and drums and planned on attending jazz school this year.

Virtue-Paul admitted 71 complaints was "quite a big number" but was not too worried about the effect the music was having on those nearby.

His father, Phil Virtue-Paul, who also plays music, said he did not really care about the complaints and refused to comment further.

Neighbours said they had had enough of the noise and believed more should be done to prevent it.

One neighbour, who did not want to be named, said she had been subjected to the noise for several years.

"Generally, it's drums and electric guitar played badly. They're not even good musicians. The drumming is a little off beat," she said.

"You shouldn't be able to sit in your lounge and hear someone else's music when you have your telly on."

The noise was excessive and it was every weekend as well as during the week, she said.

"It ruins the time I have at home because it's just so intrusive. It's generally a quiet neighbourhood."

The noise often continued for hours on end, she said.

Another neighbour said her home vibrated with noise coming from the house.

The drums often started at 9, 10 and 11pm during the week and at weekends, she said.

"He started playing the drums at 2am one morning."

Shadow Virtue-Paul said that was probably his dad, when asked by The Press.

Another neighbour said she found the music loud and excessive but never complained because she was frightened of the repercussions.

The council information showed that along with the 71 complaints, staff issued five excessive noise direction notices on a house in Tilford St during the past year.

No seizures have been made from the property but council staff have had onsite meetings with the owner and have sent him a letter, the documents said.

Council inspections and enforcement acting unit manager Fiona Proudfoot said some situations could be difficult to deal with, especially when occupants were aware of the legislation and only made noise for a short period of time and reduced it before an officer could attend.

Legislation under the Resource Management Act gave noise control officers the power to issue an excessive noise direction notice if they deemed the noise to be excessive when they visited a property. The notice required the noise to be reduced to a reasonable level and stayed in force for 72 hours.

If the noise was not reduced, or resumed with 72 hours, then the noise control officer could have the equipment seized. They must be accompanied by a police officer to do this.

Proudfoot said in some cases, occupants complied with the council's excessive noise notice for the period it was in force and then restarted the noise after that.

There were also times where complaints could be made but noise was not found to be excessive, she said.

BY THE NUMBERS:

❏ Christchurch City Council received 12,317 noise complaints for the 12 months to October 31 last year.

❏ The council spent $298,326 following up those noise complaints.

❏ The majority of noise complaints are made about stereos and musical instruments.

SIDEBAR:

What can be done?

When a noise complaint is made, a noise control officer will visit and assess the noise. If the noise is unreasonable or excessive, the officer will ask for it to be turned down. The officer can also issue an excessive noise direction notice, which requires the noise to be reduced to a reasonable level for 72 hours.

If the noise is not reduced, or resumes within 72 hours, then the officer can have the equipment seized. They must be accompanied by a police officer to do this.

Noise control laws are set out in the Resource Management Act (RMA) and enforced by councils but councils have no ability to create a bylaw to set more stringent penalties.

Any change in the legislation would have to be made by central Government.

Environment Minister Nick Smith said he received few complaints about the noise control provisions in the RMA but was open-minded about any suggestion for improvements to it.

He said he would be considering a raft of RMA reforms this year but noise control was not a part of that.

It could be if a strong case was made to him, Smith said.