Representations to Decision Notice

    “Adamson Town Planning, specialising in providing higher order town planning advice”



•     noise from the friendship terrace will be infrequent and of relatively short duration and it is
      considered that the Conditioned criteria are overly onerous. Assessment against more
      appropriate criteria indicate levels from larger groups can meet the day time criteria, and it
      is expected that the occasional evening use with the time limited to 9pm would have minimal
      impact. Noise from smaller groups would meet the day and evening criteria;
•     Noise predictions show that use of a noise barrier on the boundary to address Friendship
      Terrace noise is not practical due to the terrain and the significant height that would be
      required to achieve a suitable noise reduction;
•     Acoustic treatments can be applied to the Friendship Terrace to minimise noise radiating
      towards the residences.

The proposed development will result in a reduction in noise from inside the church as the
new building will be air conditioned to enable doors and windows to be kept closed. Air
conditioning plant can be designed to meet the conditions of approval. Further, noise from
the friendship terrace will be infrequent and of relatively short duration and can be managed
to minimise noise impacts.

It is noted that this advice relates to the church use only and the approval should have no
bearing on the existing school use. The proposed development results in a number of
improvements from the noise sources currently being generated by the existing church and
the school hall which greatly improves the current noise impacts being experienced by
neighbouring properties.

Condition 19
A suitable and purposely constructed acoustic fence must be constructed between the church and
the neighbouring residences prior to the commencement of building works in accordance with
the recommendations of the Acoustics Noise Vibration report dated 17 May 2018.

The effectiveness of a noise barrier has been assessed for the nearest house to the friendship
terrace. Having regard to the noise assessment the required noise barrier heights to meet the
proposed evening criteria for a larger group is are follows:
• Evening criteria (up to 7dB(A) noise reduction) - Top of barrier RL17, Barrier height
    approximately 3.4m at the house windows near the centre of the carpark. The barrier would
    range from approximately 2.4m to 4m high along the residential boundary.
• The adjacent house to the nearest house, has a High Set element that would be difficult to
    shield with a noise barrier.

It is suggested that the erection of a barrier at least 4.0m in height is not a practical solution
in the circumstances, resulting from intermittent noise impacts from people talking on the
friendship terrace. It is should be noted that currently the applicant could build an acoustic
fence as required under condition 19, but it is suggested that condition 21 (below) should be
amended to allow for limited hours of operation, with this being a more practical solution
rather than building the acoustic fence. Subsequently, condition 19 could be deleted.

Condition 21 (current wording)
Noise nuisance beyond the boundary of the site shall not exceed the following levels:
a. Worship Centre, Offices and Meeting Room:



                                                                                           2|Page
17020 – Good Shepherd Church Noosa