A 35-metre mobile phone tower will be the latest feature of a Point Cook housing estate – but not if residents have their way.
At its May meeting, Wyndham councillors gave the green light for Vodafone to remove an existing 30-metre high light pole at Featherbrook Reserve on Windorah Drive to replace it with a 35-metre communication tower.
The council has leased the site to Vodafone for 20 years for $18,000 a year, plus GST, with a four per cent annual loading.
But residents in neighbouring streets are adamant they don’t want the tower in their neighbourhood, submitting a petition with 131 signatures to councillors at the July meeting.
Residents cite a lack of consultation in approving the tower, with many saying they never received letters notifying them of the planning permit application.
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.
But council’s city operations director Stephen Thorpe said the permit application had been publicly advertised, and residents had been invited to inspect the proposal, which was accompanied by supporting documentation.
He said, in September last year, 48 letters had been mailed out to landowners and occupiers around the tower site on Whisper Boulevard, Windorah Drive and Regal Road. Two months later, two signs were placed at the nominated site, and, he says, no objections were received.
Advertisements were also placed in Star Weekly, he said, notifying residents that the land would be leased for a telecommunication facility.
