2 May 2016

Wellington community band kicked out of inner-city practice space

From Afternoons, 1:33 pm on 2 May 2016

A Wellington community samba band has been ejected from its inner city practice space after 15 years, because the council says the noise it makes is unbearable.

Wellington band Batucada is a percussion group with a rotating membership of around 100 - aged from their mid 20s to their 70s. The group plays at street festivals and events around the capital.

For the past 15 years it has been rehearsing for two hours on a Sunday afternoon at Thistle Hall, a community hall in upper Cuba Street. But new neighbours have complained about the noise to the council, and the group has been evicted... which they say is totally unfair because they only practise for two hours a week, on a Sunday afternoon. 

One of the group's members is Alan Shuker.