I recently moved to an apartment block in Point Cumana for the serene, peaceful ocean view and have been consistently disturbed by the noise from bar music, or music from a food stall next to the fish depot, or constant sirens from police cars and ambulances due to the single-lane traffic, or open cars playing loud music, or noisy music from an apartment block at the Big Yard entrance.
But the worst is the bar on the Western Main Road which plays loud music for the whole village three to four nights a week, sometimes all night until four or five in the morning.
Many times I have driven through St James, which has several bars on the Western Main Road, yet I have not heard the level of music from any of these bars that I hear from this particular bar.
I have complained to both the EMA (Environmental Management Authority) and the TTPS (Trinidad and Tobago Police Service) many times a week since last year and have had no relief from the noise, despite existing legislation to control this. The EMA tells me they have visited the bar on numerous occasions, even charging them—all to no avail.
The TTPS tells me the next step is for me and others to object at the bar’s next application request for a bar licence, which I have agreed to, and have persuaded others to follow suit—but we have no idea when the next bar licence would be applied for.
In the meantime, the noise disturbance continues.
It seems in Trinidad and Tobago, despite legislation for noise disturbance, littering, gang activities, and illegal firearm ownership, these activities continue unabated and without control.
Neil Reynald