If the music in discotheques and pubs has to be turned down, the existence of entrepreneurs will be endangered. The sector organization Koninklijke Horeca Nederland warns against this on Thursday. This week, the House of Representatives passed a motion with a large majority stating that the maximum noise level at events and in the catering industry must be lowered. Only the Forum for Democracy, PVV and BVNL voted against.
With this next step, the House of Representatives is increasing the pressure on State Secretary Maarten van Ooijen (Health) to work on combating hearing damage among young people. “This means a last chance for self-regulation. Otherwise, real legislation must be introduced,” Anne Kuik (CDA) explains her motion. “This widely adopted motion shows that the State Secretary must quickly come up with concrete steps,” PvdA member Mohamed Mohandis adds. Van Ooijen does not yet know whether the music should really be turned down.
‘This hits us hard’
The hospitality industry looks with fear at what is currently happening in the House of Representatives. According to many entrepreneurs, turning the music down will be at the expense of the experience. Some will even be affected in their right to exist, says the industry. “The visitors then stay away and go to other places to still experience loud music,” a KHN spokesperson responds. “These are non-regulated places where there is no supervision, such as private parties, cages and chains.”
If it is up to the Health Council, music may only be amplified to a maximum of 100 decibels, 3 decibels less than has now been agreed. The Council also states that legislation should be considered to regulate this. “This advice from the Health Council hits us hard,” responds KHN. “A reduction of 3 dB may not seem like much, but it means a halving of the sound, which gives a completely different feeling and experience to the guest.”
A reduction of 3 dB may seem little, but it means that the sound is halved
‘No scientific research’
The umbrella organization also indicates that the hospitality industry is already doing a lot to prevent hearing damage. But the House of Representatives disagrees. The point of annoyance is that the catering industry is still not participating in a covenant, which has been set up by event makers and gyms, among others, to take various measures against too loud music. In the motion, the parties request Van Ooijen to focus on strengthening the covenant, with the hospitality industry as a new partner.
The hospitality industry is not in favor of laws and regulations in this area. According to the industry, it has not been proven that ‘hearing damage is mainly caused in the catering industry and at festivals or elsewhere’. “It is also difficult to gain insight into the severity and extent of hearing damage in the Netherlands because little research is being done into it. So we still think that without a solid substantiation, imposing restrictive measures on one industry, catering and events, is not proportional,” says a spokesperson.
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Broad political support
Continuing to inform visitors is the solution
The event industry also believes that the big picture should be considered, such as the use of smartphones and earphones. “The one-sided approach to only mention limiting the sound pressure in a very small part of the Netherlands on very few occasions is not the solution. Continuing to inform visitors is, “says spokesman Willem Westermann of the Association of Event Makers (VVEM). Reducing the noise levels will be a reason for VVEM to ‘examine the value of the covenant’.
Kenniscentrum VeiligNL is pleased that there is ‘broad political support’ to get started with the prevention of hearing damage. At the same time there is criticism. “However, we think the primary focus in the motion on lowering the maximum noise standard as a measure is too one-sided and does not do justice to the complexity of the matter,” says program manager Saskia Kloet. “We know that exposure to loud noise stacks up with other noise sources. We also know that the recommended maximum level of the WHO and the Health Council, which is central to the motion, is not by definition safe for everyone. We therefore underline the importance of intensifying efforts to provide information, responding to relevant risk behaviour, in order to positively influence awareness, knowledge and preventive behaviour.”
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Conversations
State Secretary Van Ooijen ‘feels supported’ by the motion to continue the talks with the parties involved. A first meeting has already been held with the catering industry. That was positive for both parties. “The conclusion was that we see opportunities to make progress together towards covenant agreements. We will further explore these opportunities together in the coming weeks,” says KHN. Whether this also means that the hospitality industry will still join the covenant, remains to be seen.
In two weeks Van Ooijen will talk with audiologists and ENT doctors, among others. A decision will then be made on whether or not to reduce the noise levels.
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