Emily Chapman Laing
A new phone tower has led to a group of Clyde North Meridian Estate residents petitioning to the council as they are in dismay over the chosen location.
A recent mail drop alerted nearby residents to the future phone tower, which is to be located at the corner of Thompsons Road and Ceduna Road in the Meridian Estate.
“The residents feel the positioning is a completely unfit location and an absolute eye sore, the location Optus have chosen is surrounded by a children’s playground and a nature reserves filled with wildlife,“ Meridian resident Marc Birthisel said.
“Furthermore the surrounding homes were only recently made aware of this by a maildrop and never given the opportunity to reach out and protest the placement.
“There’s now quite a large number of residents whose homes will face the new tower that are particularly angry with its chosen location.“
Mr Birthisel has begun a petition which he intends to pass onto the council.
The residents were notified by mail in late May, with construction said to be starting by the end of June.
Residents have raised many issues about the tower, from the health effects, to the potential value drop on their properties, to the disregard of Optus and the council for local sentiment.
“It’s just an eyesore,“ Meridian resident Julius Fernando said.
“It was not even a notice, it was just like, they’re doing it and that’s it.“
Mr Fernando said a lot of the residents weren’t aware of the mail-drop until they saw a post about it on their community Facebook page.
“That’s when people actually realised it was happening,“ he said.
“It almost feels like they’ve done all of the groundwork without saying anything.“
Mr Fernando, like many other residents, deliberately bought a home facing the natural wetlands landscape.
“We paid extra for this block on this street because of the wetlands,“ he said.
“It was more expensive than the block behind us by about $50,000 to $60,000.“
Meridian local Stuart Dunstall said the tower is “really, really disappointing“ and not something the homeowners facing the wetlands “bought into“.
He fears the tower may devalue his home.
“Your house is the biggest investment that most people do in their lifetime and it kind of feels like someone is trying to devalue that outside of our control,“ he said.
“They say that it may be temporary, but a lot of temporary things turn semi-permanent and then I think we will have to fight to get rid of it which I don’t think is fair.
“The wetlands are the key driver for why we bought here, we purposely bought away from the power lines so we could have a clear view, and now it feels like someone is taking that away.“
Gavin Taylor, another Meridian estate homeowner, is dismayed by the lack of community consultation.
“When we decided to buy in this estate, we were aware of the power lines at the back and we made the decision to move backward and now suddenly we have had this come up, no consultation or nothing,“ he said.
“You don’t get to have a say and that’s not the way the process works.
“There’s been a very clear lapse and no proper engagement, you’ve got to work through the steps.“
Other residents fear the health effects that may evolve from living so close to the tower.
“The health aspect is a major priority, I think everything else comes second,“ Mr Taylor said.
“At the moment there’s not much research how the radio frequencies affect humans,“ resident Udul Chaminda said.
“We will be exposed to the tower 24/7.“
With a new shopping precinct being built closeby to the proposed site, the residents are confused as to why the invasive location has been chosen, rather than allocating the tower to a commercial site.
“There’s still plenty of land to put the tower, this is not the last resort,“ Mr Chaminda said.
“If they were desperate and there was no land, I would say go for it.
“I support the infrastructure because we are a growing community, but I’m against the location.“
“There is a commercial complex being built less than a kilometre away which has a Coles plus other small stores,“ Mr Birthisel said.
“I feel, as do many others, that this should be the location for this tower.“
Both Mr Taylor and Mr Chaminda have reached out to the council without receiving a response.
In April 2023, Optus received Development Approval from the City of Casey for a new mobile base station comprising of a temporary 17 metre structure.
“Optus is committed to keeping our customers connected by providing the highest possible coverage across our network,“ an Optus spokesperson said.
“Residents and businesses have expressed concerns over coverage in the area, and the site will help to address urgent coverage issues.
“We have considered many possible locations, but acceptable sites in the area are limited.“
Optus said they are actively working to acquire a permanent location for the facility.
City of Casey Manager Growth and Investment, Kathryn Seirlis said Optus’ application for a planning permit in the Meridian Estate “was not required to be advertised to the community“.
“Council received a planning permit application for the tower in November 2022 and issued a permit in April 2023,“ she said.
“Council officers assessed the application against the requirements of the Casey Planning Scheme, and the relevant Code of Practice and determined the location to be appropriate.“
Ms Seirlis said the telecommunications facility is “understood“ to be temporary.
“Further details regarding the tenure and future plans should be directed to St Germain and Optus, or other telecommunication providers,“ she said.
“Council is not party to these agreements.“
Ms Seirlis said it is the responsibility of the State Government to provide telecommunication services.
“We assist where we can to facilitate and negotiate locations, including on Council owned land if appropriate,“ she said.
“Council notifies relevant telecommunication providers to ensure they are aware of property developments ahead of time, however this is not always able to be delivered ahead of residents moving in.
“Telecommunication companies work with private land owners and developers in the area to improve their services and Council has no influence on the timing of the installations.“
A Department of Government Services spokesperson said the proposed mobile tower at the Thompsons Road and Ceduna Road intersection is not a Connecting Victoria project and is not funded by the Victorian Government.
Connecting Victoria is co-funding projects with Optus, Telstra and TPG Telcom in the area to build six new towers and upgrade three existing ones to 5G, which are planned to be ready in 2024 and 2025.
“We are funding 11 projects to improve mobile coverage in Clyde and Clyde through our Connecting Victoria program,“ a Department of Government Services spokesperson said.
“The locations were determined after extensive engagement with locals about where connectivity gaps are affecting their everyday lives.”
The 11 mobile projects across nine sites in the area that will benefit Clyde and Clyde North, include six new mobile towers and upgrades to three sites from 4G to 5G.
At some sites, the telecommunications providers have agreed to share infrastructure, which will give more Victorians a choice of mobile provider.
