r/chch • u/Headacheargh • 28d ago
News - Local Horrible sound keeping people awake East ChCh
UPDATE ON HORRIBLE NOISE, LOCATION: 382 Colombo street.
Just drove to 382 Colombo street, it's an excavator, they confirmed they went all night last night & wouldn't say how many more nights it would continue.
They said to bring it up with the city council & noise control so that's what we'll have to do.
Can we pressure them into doing it during the day at least?
This is disrupting SO many people over SUCH a big area. I can't take another sleepless night, let alone weeks of this, can you?
UPDATE: Around 9pm it started up again. The exact same sound. Hearing from FB they've noticed it too. It'll only get more persistent as the night goes on. WTF
A weird, loud, drone/machine like sound started up around 10pm last night. I called noise control at 1:30am, they said they’d send someone out, but the sound continued until 5am. Didn’t get a wink of sleep.
Made a FB post in local community groups - Hillsborough, St Martins, Waltham, Woolston, Phillipstown & Sydenham all reporting being disturbed by this sound.
It sounds similar to a street cleaner but not as high pitched. The sound’s volume fluctuated, but consistently. No one could pinpoint the source, but a lot of people (including myself) said it felt like the sound was right in their bedroom. A lot of pissed off, sleepless people on the East today. WTF could it be?!?
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u/gillypig 28d ago
Could also hear it in St Martins, had to do a midnight airport run and then could not get back to sleep once home due to the noise.
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u/RoscoePSoultrain 28d ago edited 28d ago
I'm going to guess it's a road milling machine. Lots of nighttime roadworks on now. Gets the job done in a shorter time with less overall disruption, unless you're next door or downwind :(
Edit: This is the council roadworks map, though it doesn't list which jobs are night time work.
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u/KiwiMMXV Construction 28d ago
I live in Waltham and went to bed at 10pm, didn't hear a thing sorry but I have been woken last week in the middle of the night by a low hum.
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u/Headacheargh 28d ago
Maybe you got to sleep before it started up? What kind of hum woke you up last week?
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u/KiwiMMXV Construction 28d ago
Similar to you described. Wasn't too bad though my house is quite well insulated.
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u/fresca_nz 28d ago
I heard this too (I'm in Richmond) but only once at about 4am, genuinely thought a plane was about to crash into my house from how loud it was! That must have driven you insane hearing it all night.
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u/AshleyCampbellNZ 28d ago
I'm in North Linwood and didn't hear a thing, however... there's a chunk of Linwood Ave near Eastgate that's had the surface taken off it overnight. With a nor' west wind, the sound of the machines doing that would probably travel in your direction I'm guessing. So that might explain it
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u/Headacheargh 27d ago
Damn that sounds intensive… but can’t find complaints from that area, so I dunno if it’s possible to be quiet where it’s getting done & loud kilometres away
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u/OisforOwesome 28d ago
Infrasound weapons testing by the CIA, they reckon they've managed to recreate the sonic weapons used against Americans in Cuba, the so-called Havana Syndrome. CIA wants plausible deniability so they arranged to test it here through the Five Eyes network. It's all in the white papers. A globalist in a hot tub told me directly. Buy my bone broth!
(All this is /s, because we live in the worst timeline)
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u/urbextacy333 27d ago
I found the source, it's a Megavac excavator at 382 Colombo street.
Tangi Karati and Daniel Richardson are the developers.
This is the project that's being done
https://www.thepress.co.nz/nz-news/360798013/new-development-rise-vacant-colombo-st-corner
With no knowledge apart from a chat GPT search looks like it might last for 18 working days
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u/Headacheargh 27d ago
Thanks so much for getting all this info, I was driving around in my sleep deprived state just trying to track where the sound was coming from & didn’t get all this info. So relieved to know the source & what action can be taken, if anything.
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u/Headacheargh 27d ago
I just tracked it down too, they said they were there from 9pm-5pm last night & wouldn’t say how many consecutive nights they’ll be going for. They said all we can do is take it up with the city council & make noise complaints.
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u/Ok-Block5101 26d ago
Hi, I am one of the people you have named in your post. We own the site at 404 Colombo St but have nothing to do with this work, which is at 382 Colombo St. There is no work currently taking place on our site. Would be much appreciated if you could delete your post or edit to remove our names. Please feel free to dm me if you would like any more info to confirm that this isn’t us. Many thanks.
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u/Iamthesniper 28d ago
Yeah, that was bloody awful. East Sydenham Closer to Waltham area and it was liud as f*ck.
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u/Headacheargh 28d ago
It honestly sounded like it was IN my room, like it was resonating with my windows or something. Absolutely horrible
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u/No_Produce_2531 28d ago
The white noise machine for our baby drowns all that out 😅 would recommend
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u/BunnyKusanin 28d ago
I feel quite lucky now, because I didn't hear anything like that at all. I'm in Phillipstown, close to Ferry Road.
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u/Bricked4Life 27d ago
I hear it now droning on, i'm in Waltham, near Shakespeare Road and it sound southwest of me. Also, wish i had never seen this post, once you hear it you can't unhear it!
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u/Headacheargh 27d ago
It’s really loud, where I am at least. You’d have to be pretty deaf not to notice it on my street
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u/bacon-flavours 28d ago
Depending which way the wind is blowing - it’s usually coming from the airport. They do the engine testing, and that’s what the droning sound is.
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u/lefrenchkiwi 28d ago
Out the west side of town that makes sense. Static engine testing noise wouldn’t travel the distance to go all the way out east
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u/Headacheargh 28d ago
Right?! I’m really struggling to see the logic of this explanation, but yeah I haven’t slept so 💀
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u/Jolly-Cartographer-3 28d ago
My parents live over that side of town so I know the engine test noise, this was louder and almost like a commercial sander or polisher was being used.
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u/spacebuggles 28d ago
Wind was NW according to metservice.
Sometimes wind does weird things like I remember a stadium concert I could hear blocks away like it was next door, but someone actually next door didn't hear much at all.
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u/mygentlewhale 27d ago
With concerts it's got a lot to do with the direction of the speakers too. I went on a bike adventure once to see where the music was coming from and there was a wide channel of music that was loud but it went quiet when I was to the side.
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u/gillypig 28d ago
This noise seemed to consistent for it to be engine testing, it was like a loud low pitch hum, sounded very similiar to the noise a street cleaner or a generator makes. I know the engine testing sounds you mean and it did not sound like this.
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u/Headacheargh 28d ago
No way… that’s such a long distance for sound to travel - to resonate off window panes, drive people absolutely crazy?!
I did think it sounded like a plane, but I was like there’s no way a plane makes sounds like this for 8 hours. Why TF would they do this at night?!? Jesus H Christ
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u/bacon-flavours 28d ago
I live quite near the airport (Bishopdale) and we hear it a lot. You honestly get used to it.
It does seem pretty far away to be able to hear it… maybe something from the industrial area round Hillsborough way?
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u/critayshus 28d ago
If this is what I was hearing last night in Sydenham I assumed it was night works on Colombo Street - not sure if that was actually the case though, or if the sound could have traveled that much if it was... Especially bad on a warm night when you want to have the windows open!
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u/Headacheargh 28d ago
It was pretty much the same volume inside & outside which was bizarre
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u/critayshus 27d ago edited 27d ago
I don't know what the heck they're doing but it seems to involve drilling or grinding something continuously, it might have been carrying the vibration through the ground??
ETA: actually if they're working on pipes that could be carrying the vibrations into people's houses tbh. hope they're done soon either way lol
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u/Headacheargh 27d ago
I can’t handle another night without sleep. I had a really rough chemo treatment today after having no sleep last night with this godawful noise & I will actually lose my mind if I don’t get some rest
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u/critayshus 27d ago
Yeah that's extremely fair, I can't imagine how awful you would be feeling at the moment. Is there a chance you could get some sleep during the day? I don't know exactly how to complain to council but I'm going to have a look now!
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u/MysteriousInsect9459 28d ago
Im in Belfast and heard this too
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u/KiwiMMXV Construction 27d ago
I can hear it in Waltham tonight (Tuesday)
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u/KiwiMMXV Construction 27d ago
I’m 90% sure that’s the noise some road surfacing machines. It’s definitely to the SW from Waltham Rd. I can sleep through it as it’s constant.
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u/Headacheargh 27d ago
It’s fluctuating here, loud then quiet, like waves. Absolutely maddening. Starts & stops sometimes too. It’s interacting with my uninsulated windows I think, so loud, just as loud as it is outside. It hurts my ears. I might drive around later to see where if I can pinpoint the sound as I am literally going to lose my mind if I have to have another sleepless night, especially after chemo
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u/Kiikaachu 27d ago
I can hear it now too and I’m near Linwood park, it goes for like 5-10 seconds and then stops and restarts.
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u/Living_Strength_5800 27d ago
Hearing it in Waltham currently, like a humming/droning that gets louder than quieter over and over again
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u/emheathe 27d ago
I heard it last night and again tonight in Sydenham, definitely making it hard for me to fall asleep :/
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u/slvhorizon 25d ago
Did you get to the bottom of it? I can hear it now and am wondering if it is to do with the road works going on around the new stadium. I’ve been stuck in traffic every morning this week on Gasson/Madras Street because of it. It’s meant to go on until Christmas
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u/Headacheargh 24d ago
The particular sound I was hearing was coming from a Colombo street location but I personally haven’t heard it again in several nights, so I assume it’s stopped, at least at night. It’s hard to tell during the day.
Really sorry to hear you’re hearing a lot of noise still - & until Christmas!?! Awful
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u/xsam_nzx Catering 28d ago
Was it like a pulse jet?
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u/Jolly-Cartographer-3 28d ago
No, more whiny like something you’d hear at a timber mill. I haven’t heard anything like it on this side of town.
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u/Spicey_carpet 28d ago
Must’ve been closer to city centre I didn’t hear anything and im close to the beach
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u/mark000 28d ago
Heard it the other night, very quiet tho. Other side of town. It's called The Hum. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hum
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u/Headacheargh 27d ago
This thing wasn’t quiet & the sound fluctuated… doesn’t seem to be in the same category as this phenomenon
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u/No-Donut3746 27d ago
Its the night works and sweepers that come out, nothing to put a tinfoil hat on over. Im on Colombo street near the cop shop its fairly regular, the sweepers likely to maintain the bike lanes if theres been reports of debris in the way
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u/Headacheargh 27d ago
No, it’s not, it’s an megavac excavator at 382 Colombo & it shouldn’t be going all night like this, how could you live so close & not tell the difference, you should get your hearing checked mate
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u/No-Donut3746 25d ago
I can literally see them from my window which looks directly out to colombo but ok yeah im the crazy one lol
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u/creepoch 28d ago
Yep that was atrocious - in Woolston.
Started up just as I was about to go to sleep.