Mosman fury over ‘noisy’ Warringah Bowling Club’s trivia nights and children’s bouncy castle

A furious row has broken out between the well-to-do residents of an upscale Sydney suburb and the “noisy” bowling club they say is making their lives a misery.

Locals in Mosman on the town’s lower north coast say the 120-year-old Warringah Bowling Club has abandoned its genteel sport roots for more raucous pursuits.

They now claim to be bothered by unbearable noise from a children’s bouncy castle, trivia nights, live bands, and taunts from drunk guests, including urinating in public.

The club says they have even received complaints about noise from their meat raffles and children playing on the premises.

But residents have now been warned the feud could force the club to close and sell out to a developer who wants to build a seven-story nursing home on the site, with the club on the roof.

The new building would block the multi-million dollar view across the harbor to the CBD for many neighbors in the condominiums that surround the club.

“We cannot survive without diversification,” club secretary Liarne Peek told Daily Mail Australia. “There is absolutely nothing else for us to do.

“It’s an incredibly lucrative deal for the club that will guarantee the club’s future for the next 99 years – and we’ll have a great view of the harbor from the roof.

“If these things continue, and they hold us back, and it looks like we’re not going to survive, that’s the next thing we’ll do. Say goodbye to your sunshine.

“The only downside is that we’re going to be closed for two and a half years while it’s being built, which means we’re no longer involved in the community, like the yoga classes we teach.”

The battle between the club and its neighbors on Bradleys Head Road erupted into the public eye when the license came up for renewal last week.

The spat began more than two years ago when locals claimed the club had been reimagined as a function center, sparking a flurry of complaints to NSW Liquor and Gaming.

Locals now claim that the bowlo is now just a “noisy beer garden” with “anti-social behaviour, including shouting, cheering, drinking contests and foul language.”

“I’m only 10 feet away and they’re standing along the fence yelling and cursing and using the ‘f’ word and the ‘c’ word,” neighbor Bronwyn Smith told me. The Sydney Morning Herald.

“They have customers who pee and pee all over our fence. All we want is for them to manage these out of control customers. It’s not too much to ask.’

They claim that a newly constructed pavilion deck has resulted in the clubhouse operating with doors open to connect indoors and outdoors during events.

A report to NSW Liquor and Gaming revealed that locals had been complaining about the noise from live bands and trivia nights are now ‘broadcasting… and some residents can understand the trivia questions’.

Local residents sent photos of a few drunk customers urinating in the parking lot of the club’s day care center, saying that guests often hung out in the parking lot “talking loudly, yelling and swearing.”

The club insisted there was no evidence the two men in the photo were peeing customers.

Neighbors have now demanded that the club tear down the pavilion, or put restrictions on its use, and all outdoor events must end by sunset, with most events held indoors, and a strict 10pm curfew, with CCTV and sound level monitoring.

Police say they have been working with residents and the club to find a solution, with acoustic blinds and soundproofing installed since then, as well as a new fence.

But the complaints kept pouring in, even though police found a problem with only two of 26 calls from neighbours, the report said.

Alderman Simon Menzies said residents complained about ‘anything and everything’.

“If the bowlo goes down because of the neighbors, the developers will come in and put high-rises in it, which will upset the neighbors even more,” he added.

Ms Peek added that her young staff are now afraid to pick up the phone when it rings in the club.

“It’s only three locals complaining, but when they call, they can be aggressive on the phone,” she said. “My employees don’t want to take a call anymore in case it’s them.

“It’s part of our daily lives now.”

Mosman Council said the club has improved its facilities during the Covid lockdowns and the problems started when lockdown measures started to be relaxed.

The club says it has now banned lucrative 18th and 21st birthday parties and all bands are now playing indoors with all windows closed.

It says it has also limited pavilion hours of use to 6 p.m. in winter, 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and 7 p.m. on Sundays in summer.

Children are now also prohibited from playing in the bowling alley and will be confined to a smaller area where they can be better supervised.

It also plans to employ security guards to enforce the club’s rules of conduct, with two security guards for functions of more than 100 guests.

But it added: ‘The club is one of the few local venues where customers can enjoy being outdoors.

It is ‘unreasonably draconian’ to require that the number of outdoor events, such as barefoot bowls, be limited to four per month in the summer.

“Many members are older and frail adults who prefer to sit outside where there is less risk of Covid transmission…a month is unreasonable and unfair.”

Council checks of noise levels in December 2022 and January 2023 found that while the “noise was audible, it was not considered offensive or unreasonable”.

NSW Liquor and Gaming has now issued a formal warning to the club over the ‘sometimes unnecessary disruption caused by the use of the outdoor pavilion’.

It added: ‘The club has an ongoing obligation to proactively deal with any disruptions caused by its operations.

“In the event that there is an escalation of disruption and if direct evidence is provided that demonstrates poor management of disruption issues, it is open to regulatory intervention.”