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THE territory's newest and biggest entertainment centre, the Hong Kong Stadium, was dealt a blow yesterday when it was served with a noise abatement notice.

  The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) acted quickly after sound levels outside the stadium reached nearly 80 decibels during Monday's Peter Gabriel concert. The permitted level is 65 decibels.

  Manager Wembley International has to either comply with the notice within 21 days or appeal to the Executive Council for a waiver that would allow it to stage a set number of concerts a year.

  ''If Wembley appeals within 21 days then Exco's appeal board can sit within 28 days and give its decision,'' said John Boxall, EPD's assistant director.

  Earlier at a meeting with the Urban Council, Alan Murray, chief executive of Wembley, promised to work closely with the EPD to come up with mitigation measures. But he said the level was acceptable within the entertainment industry.

  A report by Wembley said concerts would take place on 38 days of the year. A further 19 days were reserved for major sports events.

  Legislator Fred Li Wah-ming, from Meeting Point, suggested setting an upper limit for concerts, since these were more disturbing than sports events.

  Mr Boxall warned that even with a waiver the abatement notice would remain in force so that if Wembley exceeded the number of concerts set by Exco it could be prosecuted.

  The firm could face a fine of $50,000 for a first offence, and twice as much for subsequent ones.

  Mr Boxall said the EPD was surprised by the high level of noise.

  Mr Boxall ruled out as impractical any possibility that concert noise levels could be lowered to 65 decibels. ''Such a low level would be unacceptable to fans,'' he said.

  Justifying the EPD's decision to issue the notice, Mr Boxall said the department had a statutory duty to protect residents, while the Urban Council, through Wembley, had a duty to promote the stadium for the benefit of all Hong Kong residents.

  ''It is a political decision how these two conflicts should be balanced,'' he said.

  Tonight's Depeche Mode concert will be unaffected by the noise abatement notice.

  Mr Boxall said even if noise levels were exceeded the EPD would not issue a second notice.

  ''There is no need to,'' he said.

  The EPD used nine monitoring stations in and around the stadium to record decibel levels.

  The worst affected area was So Kong To village in the hills above the stadium, where noise levels reached 80 decibels during the gala opening laser show and 78 decibels during the Gabriel concert.

  Mr Boxall said this was equivalent to a convoy of heavy lorries continually driving past a house.

  In the upmarket Beverly Hill and Broadwood Park areas EPD monitors recorded 70 decibels during the Canto-pop concert last Saturday.

  Police and the EPD have received 82 complaints since rehearsals started last Thursday.

  It has also emerged that Wembley ignored the EPD's advice not to stage concerts because of the noise.

  ''Wembley asked us if we thought the stadium was suitable to stage pop events. Our advice was the stadium was unsuitable without enormous changes to the design,'' Mr Boxall said.



Stadium told to cut down the noise