Point Cook residents have lost their fight against the installation of a 35-metre mobile phone tower.
At last week’s council meeting, Wyndham council gave the green light for Vodafone to remove an existing 30-metre-tall light pole at Featherbrook Reserve on Windorah Drive and replace it with a taller communications tower to improve mobile reception in the area.
The council will lease the site to Vodafone for 20 years for $18,000 a year, plus GST, with a four per cent annual loading. An equipment shelter will be built next to the phone tower, which will also carry lighting.
The lease comes despite a petition bearing 265 signatures objecting to the phone tower’s installation. Among their concerns, residents claim the proposed tower will impact on the streetscape and neighbourhood character.
They have also expressed concerns about potential health risks that they say come with having a tower so close to homes and a childcare centre.
Cr Bob Fairclough said there was little evidence to suggest a long-term health risk.
Fellow councillor Gautam Gupta warned residents to be careful what they wished for.
“I live in an area where internet is very difficult to get and reception is very poor,” he said.
Cr Intaj Khan received applause from the gallery after stating the tower should be located elsewhere.
