Stunning Christmas display at stake after Grinch neighbour sneakily complains about the show being ‘light nuisance’
- A popular suburban lights display and show has been labelled a ‘light nuisance’
- Organisers of Boydaw Road Lights ‘gutted’ after neighbour’s council complaint
- The Gold Coast setup is a popular spot with families thanks to its high-tech show
- The organisers said a long-term decision hadn’t been made but they may stop
The future of a popular Christmas light display could be at stake after a grumpy neighbour complained to their local council about the show.
Organisers of the Boydaw Road Lights, in the north Gold Coast suburb of Ormeau, said they were ‘devastated’ their display and show had been labelled a ‘light nuisance’.
‘We didn’t build this show with the intent of causing issue with the neighbours, we communicated with them regularly throughout the year, and they were, at least to our face, supportive,’ the organisers wrote on Tuesday.
‘Our weekday show was set to run until 9pm, which we considered a reasonable time. On one occasion we were asked to turn the music down, which we did without hesitation. Unfortunately, a neighbour then went to council and specified and issue with our display, instead of discussing with us directly.
‘As such, we decided to run our last show with an 8pm start time, finishing before 8:30pm.’
The organisers have been building the display (pictured) since January, and it gained popularity quickly
The organisers, who worked on the display for a full year before turning the lights on for Christmas, said they were reviewing whether to continue with it in the future.
‘It’s a pretty gutting feeling to now have to consider whether to persist or not, but at this stage, I am leaning towards not. We don’t have any interest in putting in the time and effort that this show requires, only to upset people,’ they wrote.
The organisers said they were still reviewing the decision but were ‘super thankful’ for their ‘phenomenal’ neighbours.
‘The amount of traffic we’ve had come through exceeded our expectations about 50 times over,’ they wrote.
‘To have been able to bring everyone together, the kind words we’ve received, the completely unnecessary gifts some have given us, we appreciate greatly, but the reward has been the smiles and laughs from all ages.’
The Facebook page has amassed a following of more than 700 fans, even thought it is their first year doing a show ‘like this’ – with a lights display synced with music and a snow machine.
The display included lights, music and a snow machine, apart of a nightly show which was set to end at 9pm on weekdays
A Gold Coast City Council spokeswoman confirmed it had ‘provided advice regarding homeowner obligations’ after it received a complaint about the Ormeau display.
‘The city responds to light nuisance complaints and investigates as appropriate,’ she said.
‘The city will not be pursuing further action unless additional complaints are received and an investigation is required.’
Locals offered their support online, with one neighbour commenting they ‘know your hard work had brought so much happiness and Christmas spirit to a lot of people’.
Another joked they were the ‘biggest Grinch on the street’ but ‘even [they] come out and watch’ the show.
The Boydaw Road home was announced as one of the winners of the annual Gold Coast’s Christmas Lights Competition this year.