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News.com.au
3 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
‘Nightmare': Meriton resident faces ‘unrelenting' noise from Woolworths loading dock metres away
A Sydney apartment owner says he is at his wits' end after enduring months of 'deafening' and 'unrelenting' noise coming from a Woolworths loading dock located just metres away on the other side of his bedroom wall. Yang Yuan, 32, has questioned how building standards allowed the unusual layout of Mascot Central, where he claims his family is exposed to 'severe industrial noise', including reversing trucks, heavy metal impacts and rolling pallet jacks, from 7am to 11.40pm every day. 'It's a nightmare,' he told 'The noise is very intermittent, very random and very loud. The workers on the loading dock work on shifts — we are there, we don't have shifts. When they're working, I put my hand against the bedroom ceiling and I can literally feel it shaking. It feels as if we're living inside the loading dock.' The software engineer purchased the $750,000 one-bedroom unit in November last year and moved in with his wife and two cats straight away. The mixed-use Meriton development, located in Sydney's inner-south, was completed in 2016, and the developer says it has never received any noise complaints until now. But Mr Yuan, who has recorded multiple videos of the loud banging and industrial noise reverberating through his bedroom, says he feels abandoned by Meriton, Woolworths and Bayside Council, accusing them of repeatedly 'deflecting or denying responsibility' despite repeated complaints. 'They have put a lot of effort into denying the problem but if they had put the same amount of effort into investigating the issue it might already have been solved,' he said. Mr Yuan said the noise made it 'impossible' to work from home, 'rest or live comfortably', and left the couple's mental health in tatters. 'I've previously lived in some of the noisiest environments imaginable — next to highways, above bus stops, near construction sites, even beside neighbours playing instruments,' he said. 'None of that ever bothered me. When I say this loading dock noise is unbearable, it's not about sensitivity, it's genuinely extreme.' He and his wife, who works as a freelance digital artist, are now 'suffering from chronic sleep deprivation, heightened anxiety and constant anger'. 'Most of our free time is now spent fighting this — countless hours filming, recording, investigating and contacting different parties for help,' he said. Mr Yuan and his wife have now moved their bed into the downstairs living room to escape the worst of the noise. 'In the living room we can also hear the noise but it's like 10 per cent better,' he said. He added that he felt the build quality contributed to the noise penetration. He said the building materials were 'definitely not good for isolating the noise considering you're building next to the loading dock.' After his initial complaints to Meriton, the developer obtained a noise testing report in April, which found no issues. In May, Mr Yuan hired a professional acoustic engineer at his own cost. Over a two-day period, KR Acoustic recorded more than two dozen instances at nearly double the limits prescribed by the Association of Australasian Acoustical Consultants (AAAC) for 'impulsive' noises such those as generated by weight dropping in gyms. The sample identified 10 noise events measuring 61dBA during the day, versus the 35dBA limit, nine measuring 58dBA during the evening, when the limit is 30dBA, and six at night measuring 50dBA, double the 25dBA limit. The noise events were 'both loud and frequent, regularly exceeding allowable limits at all hours of the day', the report said. KR Acoustic concluded that noise was 'structure-borne, originating from activities at the Woolworths loading dock, and it consistently exceeds the impulsive noise limits set by the AAAC, particularly in relation to gym weight drops but also relevant for similar structure borne impulsive noise in general'. 'The measurement results substantiate residents' concerns, providing sufficient grounds for authorised officers or enforcement personnel to further investigate and to classify the noise as offensive,' it said. 'It is very likely that the noise contributes to elevated stress levels of the residents.' Mr Yuan provided the report both to Meriton and Bayside Council in June. The council said it was investigating the noise complaint, but in July informed Mr Yuan that Meriton had provided its own acoustic report which countered his, and declined to pursue the matter. Mr Yuan said he had only been provided a summary of the conflicting report. 'No one is trying to help us,' he said. A Woolworths spokesman said the Mascot Central store was operated 'like any one of our supermarkets'. 'The store is open between 7am and 10pm, and receives deliveries throughout the day,' he said. 'We've been operating in the community for close to 10 years. If there's any further questions about the operation of the shopping centre, they're best directed to Meriton.' A Meriton spokesman said Mascot Central was a 'well established development now over 10 years old, and to date, this is the only complaint Meriton has received regarding noise from the loading dock'. 'The concern was raised by a new owner who has only recently moved in,' he said. 'It's important to note that the previous owner of the same apartment did not report any noise issues over a nine-year period, nor have we received similar concerns from other residents within Mascot Central, which comprises 1200 apartments. Nonetheless, Meriton took the matter seriously and engaged an independent acoustic engineer to conduct a thorough assessment. Noise monitors were installed over a period of time. The investigation confirmed that noise levels were well within the acceptable range and did not exceed any regulatory thresholds.' Bayside Council said in a statement it was 'working with Woolworths and Meriton to identify any additional noise mitigation measures that could be implemented, while still supporting the approved use of the site'. 'Under the current development consent, Woolworths is permitted to operate until midnight, with loading dock use allowed until 10pm,' a spokesperson said. 'An acoustic report was submitted by one resident in early June 2025. Meriton, who manage the retail complex, provided an acoustic report in response and their findings conflict with the resident's report. Council will continue to work to find a suitable resolution for all parties.'
The Guardian
08-07-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Building Commission NSW using old parking infringement notice books to fine builders and developers
The Building Commission NSW is using old parking infringement notice books with carbon paper to issue fines to builders and developers who break the law, the state's building commissioner, James Sherrard, has confirmed. Officers are required to cross out the words 'Department of Motor Transport' and write 'Building Commission NSW' on the notices, with duplicate copies made using carbon paper. In 2024-25, the commission issued 202 infringement notices. As the Minns government seeks to accelerate construction times to meet its pledge to build 377,000 new homes by 2029 under the National Housing Accord, the organisation responsible for enforcing building standards is scrambling to equip itself with the necessary data and systems. 'That is correct,' Sherrard said when asked about the commission using old carbon paper ticket books. 'We are very close to turning those into a digital platform – it should be in place before the end of this calendar year – but for now, yes, people really understand what CC stands for, as in carbon copy.' The ABC reported in April that the building commission did not have access to police databases, so it could not conduct criminal checks on tradies before issuing building licences. There are concerns that the agency, established in late 2023, is struggling to create a cohesive investigative culture with modern data collection due to a lack of digital platforms. Tim James, the opposition's fair trading spokesperson, said the building commission needed a modern system to efficiently issue and track fines. 'Dodgy builders move fast, yet the building commission is stuck scribbling fines on carbon paper,' he said. 'Enforcement is only as strong as the tools behind it and right now those tools are outdated.' Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email The NSW government announced in the 2025-26 state budget that it had allocated $145m over four years to fund the organisation charged with policing shoddy builders. This was the first time the commission had been given permanent funding, which would be supplemented with revenue from fines. Sherrard said the funding would allow the agency to do its job, provided the government did not dramatically increase its scope – or the number of projects it oversaw. It had taken time to compile a team from disparate parts of the public service and to build its capabilities, Sherrard said. 'Our analytics team is improving daily and we are getting better quality information. So when we look at our complaints now, we can see what percentage of those relate to apartments and what [percentage] relates to dwellings,' he said. The inaugural building commissioner, David Chandler, was appointed in 2019 after cracks appeared in Opal Tower at Olympic Park and at the Toplace development in Mascot. Since then, the government has expanded the commission's remit beyond allegedly shoddy apartments to all residential buildings, including houses and renovations. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion Sherrard said class 1 buildings – residential houses – make up 'the overwhelming majority' of the building commission's work. He said problems often arose with unlicensed builders and builders who failed to provide written contracts as required. The Minns government's push to speed up the planning process in NSW includes streamlined approvals for compliant developments and fast-tracking state significant developments. Sherrard said he believed standards were improving despite pressure to build homes more quickly. He said the commission had moved from being reactive, when responding to complaints about faulty buildings, to a more predictive model. The commission now examines development plans lodged with councils and the planning department and maintains a list of high-risk developers whose work needs more rigorous review. 'I'm very cognisant of how much noise I make about individuals because it's a very, very small element within the industry, but me making a noise about it in media or social media does a tremendous amount of damage to consumer confidence,' Sherrard said. 'It's very difficult to find people willing to buy off the plan at this point in time. So … we're paying particular attention to those individuals who we are aware of and are bad players, and we are running through effective prosecutions, and we're trying to shift them out of this industry. 'It's about balancing consumer confidence and awareness at the same time.' The commissioner said the main way people could protect themselves against shoddy developers was to search their builder or tradesperson on the commission's website to see if they had any building offences.
BBC News
06-06-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Ex-postman and Corby MP sponsors bill to ban low letterboxes
A Labour MP who used to be a postal worker is co-sponsoring a parliamentary bill to outlaw low-level letterboxes on front doors and Barron, who represents Corby and East Northamptonshire, said putting the slots close to the ground increases physical strain suffered by postal also puts them at greater risk of dog issue has been the subject of a campaign for more than 60 years. Although many letterboxes are at waist height, a good number are still at the bottom of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) started a campaign to raise the levels of letterboxes way back in British Standards Agency agreed that they should not be installed close to the ground, but this was never enshrined into building standards who was elected to the Northamptonshire seat last year, said: "As a former postal worker and as someone who represented Corby and East Northamptonshire postal workers for over a decade, I'm co-sponsoring a 10-minute rule bill that will go before Parliament with an aim for a UK-wide ban on the installation of ground-level letterboxes in all new builds and front door replacements."He wants to make the installation height dimensions in the relevant British standard mandatory. The standard states that letterboxes must be installed between 70cm (2ft 4in) and 170cm (5ft 7in) from the delivery floor level, except in special cases such as historic Barron said: "The reasons why this is so important is due to the cumulative physical strain induced by constant bending right down to floor level while out on delivery and also the increased risk of dog bites through the letterbox when it is at ground level."The CWU said a delegation from the union had met the current minister of state for housing and planning in March to discuss the issue.A union spokesperson said: "It was a positive meeting and this conversation is currently ongoing."The 10-minute rule procedure allows MPs to put the case for a bill to become law in a speech lasting no more than 10 minutes. Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
