A petition to curb the noise levels coming from the Salty Dog licensed venue at Kingston Beach has been swamped by a counter petition in favour of the pub and its music.
The furore was started by a small group of residents who live in the vicinity of the popular pub complaining about the live two-hour music sessions held twice a week, Friday evenings and Sunday afternoon.
The anti-noise group mustered support from 40 signatories demanding the pub either drastically reduce the noise or eliminate it completely.
Pub regulars and management launched their counterclaim and within hours collected thousands of signatures to keep the live music pumping out from the roofed stage.
At the most recent count there were 40 objectors and more than 5500 in favour of the music.
Salty Dog co-owner Adriano Mignanelli said he was disappointed when he saw the petition because his venue worked hard to “be good neighbours”.
“I’m not here to turn this into a nightclub, I just want to have some good music playing on a Sunday afternoon near the beach,”
Mr Mignanelli said.
“I don’t want to turn this into a confrontational issue.
“We are a community pub, we are part of the community and that’s the most important thing for this business.
“We love the locals, we are locals.”
About $5 million has been poured in the hotel in recent years making it one of the most popular venues in southern Tasmania.
It made its name a decade or so ago when it launched a popular campaign to allow patrons in with their dogs to the outside beer garden area.
This proved immensely popular and the practice continues today with the added enticement of local live music.
He said the pub would be happy to work with the council to establish better lines of communication and potentially install further noise mitigation measures.
Meantime regulars at the pub and those who provide the live music are voicing their support of the venue and its live music.
Tasmanian performer, Amy Wiles, said the beachside hotel took its responsibilities seriously.
“I have seen the care they put into reducing the impact on neighbouring residents by enforcing strict cut-off times and regularly checking volume levels,” she said.
Regular patron, Nic Cox, said she thinks the whole debate is “crazy”
“It’s a community pub, it’s a pub where people come to have a drink, listen to music and enjoy themselves,” Ms Cox said.
“They moved in after the pub was built.”
Marcus Duggan began drinking at the pub as a teenager with his father, Rory, in the old front bar.
“That’s 32 years I’ve been drinking in the pub, and I can say that Adriano has gone out of his way to calm the waters,” Mr Duggan said.
“He’s a great publican and most helpful.
“You’ve only got to look at how great this pub is now with all the work that’s been done and all the money spent on it.”
Kingborough Council said it would address the petition regarding noise concerns at the Salty Dog Hotel at one of its future meetings.
