Capel council pays to try soundproof outdoor basketball court after neighbour complains over balls bouncing

A South West council is looking to pump more money into soundproofing a basketball court deemed too noisy by a resident after already splashing out $1500 to change the material of its backboard. Capel Shire has installed a new backboard at a court at Daablone Vista Park in Dalyellup in a bid to deaden the noise of balls to appease one household who wanted the hoop removed after commissioning their own “acoustic report” which showed it was “at least five decibels” too loud. The new backboard, which has been installed at the nearby Capel Civic playground, is made from a fibre-reinforced plastic material that tends to lessen the sound of basketballs hitting it and cost $1494.90 for installation and materials. But the months-long drama is far from over, with the Capel Shire Council looking at copping additional costs to now put a coating on the concrete to further lessen the noise. The family-friendly park has been a point of contention for the community over the past year, which included the hoop being removed last April. It was reinstated soon after a Shire survey in October found 10 of 13 neighbours supported the court. The contentious issue sparked a council dispute in April when a motion was moved to prohibit community members playing ball sports at the court between 7pm and 7am from Monday-Saturday and from 7pm-9am on Sundays and public holidays. An alternative motion was moved to remove the hoop and backboard altogether, before the council deferred its decision to May. Bunbury MLA Don Punch told the Times in May the council was “wasting time” on the complaint and should “just make a decision and go with it”, but the issue has continued to come up at each council meeting since. Councillors last week voted for the second time in a row to defer the decision again. Shire president Michael Southwell said he believed the council had found a “partial solution” with the low-noise backboard, but admitted additional spending was on the horizon to finally reach a happy outcome. “We trialled the new material at the Shire recently and we were happy with it and it makes much less noise,” he said. “The only question now is whether there’s still the noise from the bouncing on the concrete and whether we need to put some coating on the concrete to deaden that noise as well. “We’re hoping to soon find a happy ending. We’re nearly there in keeping everyone happy.”