A PROPOSED communications tower will be an “eyesore”, blocking views, decreasing property values and creating health issues, according to Table Top residents.
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NBN Co wants to build a 35-metre tower on a property near Marnie Road, but residents have banded together to protest it.
Anthony Bothe recently built a house nearby, which was designed around the views to the east.
“It’s going to be ruined by this huge tower,” he said.
“It took us a couple of years to find what we thought was the ideal location and we’ve invested our life savings.
“People move to Table Top to enjoy nature and the views.”
Mr Bothe said the tower would be constructed about 100 metres from his new home and he had been told it would be disguised by a tree.
“The tower itself will be another 10 metres above the tree line and the major bulk of the tower will be visible,” he said.
NBN Co had originally planned for a tower to be built near Tynan Road but its location was shifted as a result of earlier community feedback.
An NBN Co spokesman said the site near Marnie Road offered “better visual and physical separation” from residential areas than the previous location.
“The proposed NBN facility near Marnie Road will provide fast broadband to more than 350 premises in the Table Top area,” the spokesman said.
Mr Bothe said residents were also concerned about the tower posing a risk to their health.
“Any extra radiation could be detrimental,” he said.
The spokesman said there were no established adverse health effects from the fixed wireless technology used in the NBN rollout and the standards followed protected people of all ages.
Table Top’s Karen McLean said residents were not protesting against the National Broadband Network but did not understand why it was being constructed in a residential area.
“Why does it have to be smack bang in people’s backyards?” she said.
“We don’t want it in our backyards, nor do we want it in someone else’s.
“We just want them to put it somewhere that is not intrusive.”
The spokesman said the decision would not be finalised until submissions from the community had been considered.
The closing date for submissions is August 15.
A community meeting will be held tonight in the Table Top Hall at 7.45pm.
