Conondale: “Sunshine Coast Cancel” is the new nickname angry music punters have coined Council after it allegedly shut down the Crystal Waters’s Eco Village Music Club last week.

The music club is the latest victim in a string of other cancelled events by Council including Ocean Street World Festival, Big Pineapple Festival and Buskers by the Lake, which was recently forced to be ‘reimagined’ in a matter of weeks.

Maleny Lane‘s FrontUp Chalkboard faced a similar axing last year but managed to keep the alley-way entertainment precinct open after locals took to the street in protest.

And it seems Council is again brushing off the recent closure as a response to “noise complaints”, but club organiser Bernard O’Scanaill tells a different story.

Bernard told ABC Sunshine Coast this morning: “Council tells us now that we didn’t have the right zoning. No body here knew that we were in breach, and we’re still trying to establish the nature of the breach”.

“All we know is the volume of the music was not the reason for the complaint,” he said.

Bernard has run the club for the past five years, and said there were several other music events running at the idyllic eco-village for many years prior.

He said the surrounding cafe, restaurants and other businesses had not been affected, and felt the music club had been singled out.

“We’re very respectful. All the events finish before 10pm. In winter they finish before 9pm, so no one should be offended,” he said.

“We have classical music, we have jazz, we have rock n’ roll, we have traditional Irish music. It’s not loud, it’s not a doof, it doesn’t go for hours. It goes for a maximum of four hours.”

The Conondale permaculture village is an environmentally-responsible rural subdivision, with only 250 residents on 83 privately-owned one-acre plots, all surrounded by the lush green pastures of nearby hobby farms and small acreage.

Bernard said the event was not a “money-maker” and that he had lost money over the years, but did it because he was passionate about music and his community.

He said there were many musicians in the community and music lovers who would now have to drive almost an hour to Maleny to enjoy live music and perform.

“It’s a sad time for us, we’ve lost our beloved music club. We’re all a bit mystified as to why it should happen now.”

A Council spokesperson told Yelo that a Council compliance officer visited the property in response to noise complaints arising from music events held at the site and informed a representative that a development approval would be required to be obtained for such events to take place on a regular basis.

“Council has an obligation to investigate any complaints made by the general public in relation to activities which may be being undertaken unlawfully. To date, no formal compliance action has been taken by Council.

“Council is committed to achieving a balance between development and community expectations. Council offers development advice services to help inform and guide operators and property owners about development requirements for such events/uses.”

Commenting on a Yelo story about the closure, Facebook user Trevor Ross said: “Remember come local council elections just cancel them by voting them out”.

Another user Daryl Thompson called Council “Sunshine Coast Cancel”.

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