A PROPOSED mobile phone tower at Dianella Plaza Shopping Centre is up for public comment until March 2.
Optus has proposed a 20m monopole with an overall height of 21.6m, located 1.1m from the northern wall of the building and the installation of 21 remote radio units attached to the monopole, a three-bay outdoor cabinet, ancillary equipment and four traffic bollards.
According to a report prepared by network services Service Stream on behalf of Optus, the location was the most preferred because it was considered as appropriate infrastructure in an area removed from community sensitive uses.
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READ NOWThe report said the antenna configuration and low power requirements of the proposed tower would mean that electromagnetic energy emissions would be kept below the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency’s limits.
Dianella resident Beatrice Stotzer said phone towers were a potential health hazard and its radiofrequency electromagnetic fields were classified as possibly carcinogenic for people in the vicinity, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
“Being a recent phenomenon, more time is needed for conclusive results,” she said.
“Nevertheless, building a tower next to a big shopping centre, clubs, library and a school is very alarming.
“This is not about aesthetics, but about the effects that electromagnetic fields may have on thousands of people – in particular on the still growing body and brain of children.”
She urged residents to send comments to the City of Stirling.
The proposal is available at the City’s main administration building at 25 Cedric Street, Stirling.
Submissions close on March 2 and can be emailed to stirling@stirling.wa.gov.au or sent to the City of Stirling, PO Box 1533, Osborne Park WA, 6916.
Quote reference number DA17/1796.
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