Redfern Residents Brace for MTV Awards

Residents say the old railway buildings are inadequate to handle the noise generated by dance parties and other events, and that the park and the Redfern Waterloo Authority have done little to solve the problem.

Resident Bill Sheridan said that despite years of complaints to both state and local government he had seen little reaction from the authority, which manages the ATP site. "(It's) just a lot of hot air and they've done nothing to rectify the problem," Mr Sheridan said.

He also said that while noise readings had been taken in the area, they had not been taken from his home. Jan Murphy, who also lives in the area, said sound quality and volume varied depending on who was running the event, with more professional events more likely to have better equipment.

"We're not against them having these functions,' she said.

"But you're in old railway sheds, they're echo chambers."

Robert Domm, CEO of the Redfern Waterloo Authority, said he was aware of the complaints but added that his staff had told him that Mr Sheridan and Ms Murphy were the only ones who regularly complained.

"There's no doubt in my mind (Mr Sheridan) is hearing noise, but the issue is whether what he's hearing from the ATP is excessive," Mr Domm said.

He said that he had ordered more scientific testing and that it would be up to the sound engineers to decide the best place to test noise levels from.

"I'm going to be guided by the experts," he said. "It's not up to me to determine the location. The ATP's been doing testing for years and the advice I've been getting has been showing the noise is within acceptable limits. But I'm going to get to – the bottom of this."

State Environment Minister and local councillor Verity Firth said she was aware of the problem.

"I sympathise with the frustration of residents affected by neighbourhood noise," she said.

"In my capacity as a City of Sydney councillor, I have raised the matter concerning Australian Technology Park with the council CEO.