Locals fight Telstra's tower plan

Tower concerns: Alstonville residents stand in front of the Telstra telephone exchange in Robertson Street, the proposed site for a new telecommunication tower.

Jerad Williams

ALSTONVILLE residents and business owners say a 25-metre-high mobile phone tower will dominate the village skyline if it is approved by Ballina Shire Council at today’s meeting.

Telstra wants to build the tower to improve mobile and broadband performance in the region.

It would be located on Telstra-owned land in Robertson Street.

However, locals believe the tower does not fit with the ‘cherished’ village atmosphere of Alstonville.

They are also concerned about property values and potential health hazards.

During the public exhibition period last month, the council received 24 submissions about the proposal and two petitions with a total of 152 signatures.

Alstonville-based heritage adviser Jane Gardner wrote in her submission that the tower would negate the good work being done by the council in upgrading the main street.

“It would seem a waste of resources for council to spend money on removing light poles and upgrading footpaths and then have a huge tower dwarf our little village,” she wrote.

“It may not be a structure that encourages potential visitors off the bypass.”

Many residents have suggested that Russellton Industrial Estate, just outside the village, would be a better location for the tower.

Despite acknowledging that the tower will be ‘visually significant’, council staff have recommended that councillors approve the tower.

The council admits that it ‘remains unclear’ whether a ‘thorough analysis of alternative sites’ was exhaustive, but says the tower will provide a ‘positive public benefit that achieves a social and economic objective’.

Telstra’s environmental planner, in addressing concerns raised in the submissions, admits there is some potential for visual impact.

However, the planner says the ‘natural terrain of the area, along with screening by existing surrounding buildings, trees and vegetation, will reduce the total visible volume of the facility when viewed from certain directions’.

The planner also said the tower was not considered to have an adverse cumulative impact on the community’s health and safety.

“The proposed infrastructure will provide the township of Alstonville with quality, reliable and up-to-date communication technology,” the report states.

The area general manager for Telstra Far North Coast, Michael Sharpe, will speak about the application at today’s council meeting.