Several years ago Sally and John Rominski, and Ian and Bernadette Davidson were great friends, two ­couples who sought a tree change and purchased land in the picturesque Paterson Valley.

The Rominskis bought their 40 acres 15 years ago, the Davidsons buying the neighbouring historic Mindaribba House a few years later.

They were great neighbours and enjoyed the occasional get together until the Davidsons turned their ­property into a wedding venue.

Today the parties are at each other’s throats with threats alleged to have been exchanged, irate late-night phone calls and calls to police.

The Rominskis are distressed about traffic and noise, and the Davidsons are ­working under duress to run a family business.

With no development application approval, the Davidsons were operating their business with great success, however after several phone calls from the Rominskis appealing for music to be turned down, a complaint was lodged with Maitland City Council.

Mrs Rominski said the noise levels have become unacceptable, particularly at night.

With the complaint made, the Davidsons were approached by council to lodge a development ­application. This will be heard at a meeting on February 23.

Maitland mayor Peter Blackmore conceded it had taken a long time for the application to come before council.

He said it was acceptable for a ­business to operate before full council consent if the operator complied with regulations regarding issues such as traffic, noise and health.

Cr Blackmore said he had concerns about the matter but after speaking with planners learnt the Davidson’s arrangement was not unusual.

The news has done little to quell the Rominskis’ concerns.

In a letter to Mrs Rominski last October, council’s health and building surveyor Daniel Beckett said council asked the Davidsons to stop trading until formal consent was issued.

When Mrs Rominski asked Mr Beckett for an update on November 9, she was told council had requested a sound audit on the property.

The following day, Mr Beckett told Mrs Rominski that rather than undertake “lengthy and very costly” legal actions to stop the business, council chose to consider the development application and allow the business to operate with certain conditions.

“Should the need arise to cease the business, council will go down that path,” Mr Beckett said.

Mrs Rominski said the noise was unbearable, not just from the music but also patrons “yahooing”.

Another neighbour who contacted the Mercury late on Thursday, Danny Gallagher, said the issue cast a dark shadow over the development application process.

He said the fact a business could trade without formal approval was a grey area that the government needed to address.

“My issue is the noise and the traffic,” Mr Gallagher said.

“I didn’t buy out there to live next door to a pub.

“This has to affect our property values.”

Mr Davidson said when he started the development application process he received a list of conditions ­including traffic studies and noise audits, which were carried out at a cost of thousands of dollars.

“We’re talking about an operation four nights a month for three hours at a time, finishing at 11pm,” he said.

“We have operated for three years without a complaint and we are fully booked to October next year.

“We have complied with everything council wants.”