Residents of Oxford St rarely had an issue with the KFC at the end of the road before it was refurbished at the end of last year, but the recently installed external fan has been frustrating many members of the neighbourhood.
The dreary hum could clearly be heard while standing in Oxford St yesterday, despite the busy Andersons Bay Rd nearby.
Bev Lyon said the noise never stopped.
She had lived near the restaurant since 2009 and had no issues before this, she said.
Sometimes there was a queue for the drive-thru and the smell could blow down the street, but those were things you expected when you moved in next door to a fast food restaurant, she said.
But a few months ago work was done on the building, followed by the unexpected and unexplained humming.
She had spoken to others in the neighbourhood and it seemed everybody was sick of the sound.
"We shouldn’t have to put up with the noise."
Chris Wilson, who lives in a block of flats next door to the business, said it sometimes kept her and her neighbours up at night.
She had been into the store to ask about it, but was "fobbed off".
It seemed like KFC was not interested and the Dunedin City Council was unable to do anything, she said.
Another resident, who did not want to be named, said it sounded like an aeroplane coming in to land at all hours of the day.
"It’s just noise pollution. It doesn’t need to be here."
The restaurant had functioned for many years with a quieter system, which must have worked, so she did not understand why they had to be subjected to the new sound, she said.
A Dunedin City Council spokesman said it had received two noise complaints regarding KFC Dunedin South and was investigating the issue.
Restaurant Brands, which operates KFC in New Zealand, did not respond to a request for comment on the issue.
