Entertainment Events to be Limited at Hope Gardens

The Kingston and St. Andrew Municipal Corporation has taken a decision to limit the number of entertainment events on the grounds of the Hope Botanical Gardens, in a bid to reduce the noise nuisance to residents in the surrounding areas.

Speaking at today’s (July 9) Council meeting, Mayor of Kingston, Senator Councillor Delroy Williams, said this is in response to a series of complaints to the Municipality from the residents regarding noise nuisance.

“We have, as a Municipality, limited the events as part of the process going forward to two events per month, and we have asked the administrative staff to ensure that we don’t approve more than two events per month,” he said.

The Mayor said a team from the Municipality is slated to visit the facility today (July 9) to observe, first-hand, the areas used for entertainment events and to have further dialogue with the operators.

“We met with the operators of the Hope Zoo earlier this week and we had a fruitful discussion on the matter. I must say the operators are quite aware of the issues and are quite respectful in our discussion of the concerns of the residents of Hope Pastures. The concerns are real and solutions must be found to deal with it,” Senator Williams said.

The Mayor said data-gathering activities have commenced, adding that the information will assist the Municipality in the decisions going forward.

“We have also been collecting data from the events that we approve there, so that it will inform our final decision. We have been collecting data on the decibel levels and the levels that present a nuisance to the residents of Hope Pastures. We will review the data collected and arrive at conclusions from the data,” he said.

He noted, too, that recommendations have been received from the operators regarding the decibel levels for events that they host on the property.

“They have made recommendations in terms of the maximum decibel levels that they will allow. It’s our responsibility to review the recommendation to see whether or not those levels are appropriate in terms of the special situation in Hope Pastures,” the Mayor said.

He noted that the levels recommended are in keeping with international standards, adding that a meeting will be held with the citizens of Hope Pastures.

In the meantime, the Mayor said an agreement has been reached with the operators for the closure of Gibson Gate for events.

He pointed out that the only approved entrance is the main gate located on Old Hope Road, noting that Gibson Gate is adjacent to Hope Pastures, which presents its own nuisance in terms of noise coming from motor vehicles.