BRINEK: MUSIC OR NOICE?

Since the municipality of Lend in Salzburg moved its music rehearsal room from the cellar to the ground floor of a building in the community, the family living above suffers from noise.

Almost every day rehearsals with all kinds of instruments take place in the cellar. The municipiality insists that the construction works were made properly and that the level of noise was „normal“. Ombudswoman Brinek criticized among other points that the necessary approval was given in advance. In one of the two expert reports a lack of sound-damping was mentioned. Brinek: „I request local authorities to implement measures for sound-damping in order to improve the situation for the family living in the building.“ The district administration of Zell am See announced a mediation process. The proposition is fully supported by ombudswoman Brinek.

Municipality ignores necessary reconstruction of a local road

Deep wheel ruts and boggy soil after rainfalls make it almost impossible to drive on the road to Braunsberg in Lower Austria. About 50 inhabitants of Braunsberg depend on this road and need it for their way to work or shopping. Despite announcements by the municipality, necessary construction works were delayed again and again. According to the authorities a lack of financial resources and disagreements on the course of the road and the distribution of costs are the reasons. Ombudswoman Brinek points out that maintenance is a municipal duty – therefore, lacking financial resources cannot be accepted as a reason. Furthermore, Lower Austria already gave 60.000 euros for this purpose, but the money went into the general budget. Brinek concludes: “The Residents of Braunsberg have been really patient and have been driving on a dirt road instead of a proper road for 30 years now. I expect that the municipality keeps its promises and meets its responsibilities.“