Council has approved the installation of a 45 metre tall tower in Little Hartley, which NBN Co says will provide broadband internet to the Kanimbla Valley, Little Hartley, Hartley Vale and South Bowenfels.
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Debate surrounding the 16-storey ‘monopole’ dominated the council meeting on March 26.
A decision on the tower was brought forward after a representative of NBN Co and opposing land-owners spoke from the public gallery at the opening of the meeting.
NBN’s Jacqueline Compton said that if approved the tower would provide internet services to residents who currently have “some of the poorest broadband in the country” by the end of the year.
She said 540 premises in the tower’s range would benefit.
“Most of the Kanimbla Valley receive the poorest standard of ADSL, an ‘E’ ranking where it is ranked from A to E, and only part of the Hartley Valley receives slightly better which is a ‘D’,” she said.
“Quite a few communities across the Valley effectively have no broadband services whatsoever.”
She said NBN Co had changed the position of the tower so it would not impede on RMS’ upgrading of the Great Western Highway.
“The fact that we have stuck to this proposal for 18 months underscores the fact that a quick, simple co-location option is not possible here,” she said.
Peter Van Der Poel, who lives in Little Hartley approximately 100 metres from the tower’s proposed location, said that approving the tower was counter intuitive to the council’s goals.
“When the highway is finished this tower will not be hidden in any way. When all is done the tower will be situated on a peninsula of land sticking out onto the highway,” he said.
“The tower before you is 16-storeys high it is not like any of the towers you see around town. It will be the largest piece of this infrastructure in the area.
“What I have learnt is that you are putting aside a large amount of money and effort to reinvigorate the town. Little Hartley is your welcome guard. It is the first town in your area.”
Both council and NBN Co’s reports maintain the tower will not impact the heritage value of Little Hartley despite being in close proximity to heritage properties like Meads Farm, Harp of Erin and Ambermere.
Council said the tower would create a visual impact on views of those entering and exiting Lithgow on the Great Western Highway as well as the residents of Apple Tree Lane.
“However, despite acknowledging the impact, the refusal of the application on this basis cannot be supported. A monopole is a reasonably narrow structure and is preferable to a lattice structure,” the council report stated.
After voicing some objection, all councillors except for Cr Maree Statham supported the council’s recommendation to approve the tower, with the amendment that NBN Co must remove the tower if it becomes obsolete.
“I sympathise with the statements made against this particular tower, but over the period I’ve been on council I have had many, many requests for there to be some sort of tower to help with the broadband and mobile service in the area,” Cr Ray Thompson said.
“We’ve lobbied and lobbied. So I can’t see any other way. I think it’s a god send for Lithgow Council to be able to give another service.”
Mayor Stephen Lesslie proposed the deferral of the council’s decision in order to give NBN Co time to investigate an alternative location for the tower.
“I don’t believe there’s been a genuine attempt to find an alternative site,” he said.
“This is the easy option: it’s there, it’s on the highway, it’s ugly. Clearly, it does obstruct the views of heritage properties and I believe there are alternative sites,” he said.
“While I believe NBN services in the Hartley Valley are essential, I think they should not be imposed at the cost of people who live nearby.”
However, his amendment did not pass.
Ross Dunstan who owns land that has been approved for residential use by the council near the tower queried the plan’s adherence to telecommunications guidelines.
Acting general manger of Lithgow City Council Andrew Muir said the application resolved all legal issues satisfactorily.
“That doesn’t mean a person couldn’t challenge them,” he said.
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