2020-02-11 Planning & Environment Committee Agenda

PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                 11 FEBRUARY 2020


     Summary of Matters Raised                        Comments
                                                      proximity of the tower to the premises and the
                                                      prominence in the view.
                                                      Council’s independent consultant identified flaws in
                                                      the methodology of the first VIA which do not appear
                                                      to have been addressed appropriately in the 2nd VIA.




     Figure 20 – Newspaper circulation area

6.      CONCLUSION & REASONS FOR DECISION
The development application seeking a development permit to construct a NBN tower at 244
Tablelands Road has been amended from the original proposed height of 35 metres to a monopole
height of 25 metres. The proposal includes a slimline telecommunications tower which will be
painted in colours to blend in with surrounding vegetation. The site is located adjacent to
Tablelands Road on a small ridgeline to the east of the road. The proposal has sought to minimise
the removal of trees by siting the tower and associated access at the edge of an existing cleared
area and aligning the access road with the existing driveway to the house site on the property.
The applicant has submitted 2 Visual Impact Assessment reports which have been peer reviewed
by Council’s independent consultant. The peer review has identified shortcomings in the
methodology used in the applicant’s visual impact assessment. Based on the methodology used,
the majority of vantage points which will view the tower from the surrounding area are considered
to have negligible impact on the scenic amenity of the area due to a combination of distance and/
or vegetated backdrop preventing the upper parts of the tower to extend into the skyline. It is
unclear as to the full extent of properties which are adversely affected that have not been visited
by either the applicant’s visual consultant or Council’s visual consultant. At least 4 known sites are
likely to have low to moderate visual impact. At least one of these site is known to have a prominent
view of the proposed tower in context of the viewshed overall. The view of the proposed tower
from 298 Tablelands Road is significant as it sits within a central aspect of the view, between
existing trees and in the foreground of the view.
The proposed tower site is located 100metres from an existing Telstra tower. The Telstra tower is
unable to be viewed from elevations above it due to its siting and screening by surrounding trees.
The applicant has elected not to co-locate the infrastructure as would be the expectation of the
Infrastructure Uses Code. The Mary River Catchment Locality Code contains strong themes of
protection of scenic amenity, rural character and protection of environmental and recreational
values. It is considered that the departure from these two key aspects of the planning scheme
warrant further consideration of alternative sites.
If approved, the operation of the Telecommunications Act 1997 and the Telecommunications (Low-
Impact Facilities) Determination 2018 enables extension of the tower by up to 7 metres in total
without returning to Council for comment or assessment. The immunities afforded to ‘Low Impact
Facilities’ are considered a relevant mater for consideration in the assessment of this application.


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