October 2018 | David Claridge

A LACK of communication and public approval has caused an uproar with residents of Blackstone Heights who are concerned with the proposed site of a Telstra Mobile tower.

Residents were made aware that a tower would be installed in the area in April, but nobody was informed of the location for months until a site had already been chosen. Blackstone resident, Melissa Page, has been trying to get information about the proposed location of the tower since 12th July. She represents a group of concerned residents who live near the Tas Water site where the tower is likely going to be placed in Zenith Court, just metres away from a residential area.

“Our main concern is the possible effect on housing prices because it will be close to the homes - it will stand out. If someone puts up a For Sale sign and people come up to the open home and see this large tower looming over them, will they want to buy?”

“Why people are so touchy and upset about it is that up until the 16th August we couldn’t get a location of where it would go. Telstra won’t talk to us directly and Visionstream have been evasive.”

“There were other sites considered in May before the Zenith Court site, but the landowners refused to have the tower near their homes. Putting it on the Tas Water site enables road access, power and no landowners to reject it. “The people don’t want a tower right next to their homes when there are so many other better places where it could go. Telstra are contractually unable to answer public questions and are suggesting concerned people talk to Visionstream who have been contracted to put up the tower. After a lot of public outcry over how the tower has been organised, Telstra held a community Drop in Session at Country Club Tasmania on the 20th September. Melissa commented after the session “None of our important questions were answered and it just kept going around and around in circles, so it was a very frustrating experience.”

As part of the Federal Governments Mobile Black Spot Program, Telstra is building 429 new towers over the next three years in regional and remote parts of Australia, costing $340 million.