A group of Hoppers Crossing residents is fighting the installation of a phone tower in their street.
Wyndham council has given the green light for Vodafone to install a 20-metre phone tower and adjoining equipment shelter at Hunt Court Reserve, near the corner of Morris and Hogans roads – but the council has yet to enter into a lease agreement with the company.
Neighbouring residents are calling on the council to reverse its decision and on Vodafone to install the tower elsewhere.
Hunt Court resident Steve Hardeman said residents would protest about the tower in a rally this Saturday from 11am.
Mr Hardeman said residents were concerned the tower would take away valuable public space and open up the area to vandalism.
“It’s just going to be put right in front of our houses,” he said.
Boyanich Court resident Karin Gilbert said the location flew in the face of the council’s own open space strategy.
Wyndham city operations director Stephen Thorpe said the council could not reverse the planning permit approval.
“The decision to approve this telecommunications tower was made because it will address an issue that has concerned Hoppers Crossing residents for many years, in that it will improve their mobile phone service,” Mr Thorpe said.
“The decision to approve the Vodafone tower went through a formal planning process at council, without any appeals being lodged by the community.”
Mr Hardeman said residents had not been able to afford to appeal the decision at Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
A Vodafone spokesman said the tower would be erected once the lease was approved.
“The Hoppers Crossing location was deemed the most suitable because it achieves the best possible balance between meeting network coverage requirements and limiting visual impact,” he said.
