Frost Fan Myth: The problem is caused by lifestylers moving to the country

This is a common piece of misdirection put about by those who would have you believe that the noise from frost fans is a normal agricultural activity and that it's only since the the countryside has been overrun with people seeking a country lifestyle that the problem of noise has surfaced.

The way to identify that this is a false statement is to quietly examine the facts.

First of all the section 32 report that was released with the recent proposed rule change shows the increase of frost fan numbers in Marlborough. This shows that before 2000 there were practically no frost fans. The number climbed slowly to 100 in 2005. Then it picked up a bit of pace. By 2007 there were 300. By 2009 there were 1000.

So lets not fool ourselves here. The problems have blossomed because frost fan numbers have blossomed.

The second way to identify this as a myth, is that the myth automatically puts the blame for the problem onto anything other than frost fan use.

It couldn't possibly be something as simple as lots of unregulated frost fans being installed? It certainly wouldn't be something as simple as frost prone land that would normal be discounted for viticulture being used for growing grapes (irrespective of who's living next door)?

Here's the test for finding out who's to blame for when a frost fan is keeping you awake.

Did you build your house next to a frost fan? If the frost fan arrived after you built your house, then the problem is hardly of your making. (bonus marks if there wasn't even a vineyard nearby when your house was built)

Are the frost fan's near to you running at the right speed? This is a tricky one since the Council's track record at monitoring and compliance has been (how shall we put it), below expectations.

Is the operator a reasonable fellow or does he live in Sumner / Remuera? If they don't live on the property, the chances are that they probably don't much care about you or whether you're being kept awake.

Sorry, its a rambling blog post, but after seeing Stuart Smith spout his typical ' go back to town' speech, I had to get it off my chest.