…gov’t clamps down on promoters for lawlessness, noise
–events’ organisers must get approval or use alternative venues

THE Ministry of Public Infrastructure has ordered the immediate cessation of the use of the Kingston foreshore for events and activities likely to generate noise above permissible levels.

Failure to comply with the directive will result in legal action being taken, the ministry affirmed on Sunday, in a public notice published in the media.

“This Ministry of Public Infrastructure wishes to notify members of the public that approvals will not be granted for the use of the Kingston Foreshore–between Fort Groyne and Camp Street—as a venue for entertainment, social and other events which are likely to generate noise above the permissible levels specified in the ‘Guidelines for Noise Emission into the Environment.

“This includes all events involving the use of loud audio and video systems, including those installed in motor vehicles and events characterised by crowd-generated noise,” the notice stated.

Chief Sea and River Defence Officer at the Ministry, Kevin Samad, told the Guyana Chronicle that complaints of high noise levels as a result of party events have spurred the decision. “It’s too loud. It’s disturbing the Marriott and the Pegasus hotels–the noise levels—we’ve been [receiving] a lot of complaints. The only events we’re going to consider are those without [music] boxes, like if persons are going to have any promotional activities or awareness campaigns and those kinds of things,” he said.
In the guidelines for Noise Emission into the Environment, noise is defined as “unwanted sound which may cause or tend to cause an adverse psychological effect on human beings and includes vibration”.

The unit for measuring noise is the decibel (dB) which describes the sound pressure level or intensity of sound.

In the standard residential areas, the noise level allowed is 75 dB in the day and 60 dB in the night; in the industrial areas 100 dB during the day and 80 dB at night, while and commercial areas are allowed 80 dB in the day and 65 dB at nights.
According to Guyana Police Force (GPF) Senior Superintendent Errol Watts, the year 2017 saw 417 reports of noise nuisance cases countrywide and 300 reports already for 2018.
Last December, contention arose when the Marriott Hotel moved to erect private-property signs on the hotel’s adjacent beach area, in objection to a Christmas Eve beach party held at the location. However, the signs were subsequently removed as Commissioner of the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC) Trevor Benn confirmed that the hotel’s foreshore is the property of the government.

Taking a similar stance, the notice continued: “All approvals granted by the ministry for such events have been annulled. The organisers for such those events, having been duly notified of the annulment of their approvals, are advised to use alternative venues and operate in conformity with applicable regulations for use of public spaces.”
Applications by persons and entities – including government agencies – desirous of using any section of sea or river defence reserve, must be made to the Sea Defence Board for approval. Meanwhile, the Sea Defences Act Chapter 64:02 of the Laws of Guyana, was cited as the basis on which those in breach of the same could be pursued by the law.
“Members of the public are reminded that no unauthorised use of any sea or river defence reserve will be permitted…failure to comply with this requirement will result in legal action against the violators involved,” the notice said.

In November, the Ministry of Public Security in collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) hosted a training course in Noise Management with members of the force to build their capacity and ability to address the current challenges. There, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan had stressed that police officers must ensure, that they enforce the existing laws regarding noise nuisance which continue to result in an array of social difficulties.