Tuesday 28 October 2008

Poles apart at Clifton

Looks like some good news this week for those who've campaigned at Clifton Beach.

It would appear that there will be a community win. This Thursday’s Ordinary Council meeting, Council planners are recommending that the proposed Telstra monopole communications tower for Endeavour Road will not be approved. This was planned for the corner of
Elford Street and Endeavour Road, Clifton Beach.

"The proposal does not comply with Telecommunications Facilities Code of CairnsPlan, specifically P1 of the Community Safety Requirements," Council says. "The submitter believes approval of the application will have detrimental health impacts."

Council says that the proposal compromises the achievement of the Scenic Landscape, which states that the scenic landscape of the city is valued and enjoyed by residents and visitors, and the essential elements of this landscape, the forested hills and foothills and headlands, streams and rivers, wetlands, open spaces and rural land are conserved and enhanced.

You can download the Agenda item from here and read their recommendations.

Should the request for this structure not be approved, then this is community in action and one being listened to. This hasn't happened for some time.

I am sure that this is the first time that the Council planners have taken resident’s submissions and used them to knock back this construction, which was planned for in the middle of a residential area, and right alongside a major road used by visitors to our region. There were 414 community objectors to Telstra's proposed installation.

It is looking like the community may win this fight. The irony is however that everyone wants better mobile phone coverage, yet doesn't want one of these monster transmitters in their back yard.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ah - one turn-up for the books. The 'we'll be sued' ethos put to one side, for a change.

Perhaps Auntie Val, maybe some Councillors, Council officers, & most importantly Council Planners may have read some of the offerings in the Blog last week, wherein a few people were encouraging the Council Planners to work with the Cairns Plan, and bring to halt hideous, inappropriate development. Congrats if a few of you Planners read, & listen, to comments in the Blog.

Anonymous said...

I can go without cellphone coverage for a few hundred metres at Clifton Beach and would rather Telstra had cell site coverage in remote areas, eg Cairns to Normanton or Cooktown. It's a long way between telephone boxes.