A photomontage of the proposed Fadden phone tower, described as very deceptive by Labor MLA Taimus Werner-Gibbings. Image: Indara.
A mobile phone tower proposal in Fadden is facing a wall of opposition from the community, and in the Legislative Assembly, where members lined up to pan it and the proponent, telecommunications infrastructure company Indara.
Indara has submitted a development application for the tower, compound and access track for a pocket of a public reserve in the middle of the suburb, next to tennis courts and close to a recreational pond and playground. Four trees planted by the community would be removed.
It attracted 131 objections attacking the location on the corner of Bugden Avenue and Nicklin Crescent as inappropriate and saying the tower would be an eyesore, interfere with the community’s enjoyment of a popular recreational area, be a safety hazard obscuring lines of sight for traffic and pedestrians, impact wildlife and bring down property values.
Many say Indara should consider alternative sites.
Indara looked at five sites, two of which were in the Wanniassa Hills Nature Reserve, but EPSDD ruled these out on environmental grounds. The National Capital Authority would also need to approve them.
Other options were the adjacent Fadden Pond reserve, deemed too scenic, and land on Jackie Howe Crescent, MacArthur, which the ACT Government has other uses for and it would not provide sufficient coverage in any case.
Where Indara plans to build the phone tower and compound. Image: ACTmapi.
Brindabella Liberal MLA Deborah Morris took up the community’s cause in the Assembly on Wednesday, backed by Fadden resident and Labor MLA Taimus Werner-Gibbings, and other members.
Ms Morris moved a motion calling for the Assembly to publish the EPSDD evaluation that ruled out the Wanniassa Hills sites being considered and direct it to re-evaluate their suitability to enable Indara to proceed with a DA, including these sites.
But the Assembly accepted an amendment from Planning Minister Chris Steel changing this to just “publish the evaluation … by the end of May 2025”, taking into account the Territory’s Planning Authority’s independence in assessing and deciding DAs.
Ms Morris surveyed the Fadden community, receiving 167 responses, 80 per cent of which opposed the tower proposal on that site, with half open to a different location.
She told the Assembly that the community did not oppose improved phone service but believed there were better sites in Fadden to achieve this.
“The only pathway forward that the ACT government has currently given the developer is to build a 25-metre-tall tower on the most prized recreational community asset in Faddon,” she said.
Her motion sought a middle road.
“If the application is supported by the planning authority, by not allowing alternate sites to be assessed, the government would be giving a green light to the development of a site that the community has very clearly rejected,” Ms Morris said.
“If the application is rejected by the Planning Authority, the government would be blocking Fadden residents from gaining access to better phone reception, which is something many of them desperately need by not allowing alternative sites to be assessed.”
Illustration of the proposed Fadden phone tower, which would be 5 metres from the tennis courts. Image: Indara.
Mr Werner-Gibbings, who lodged his own objection, said Indara did not consult with the community on what is a significant piece of light industrial infrastructure in the middle of the most important and well-utilised green space in Fadden.
He criticised the photomontages in the DA as very deceptive.
“They are staged to show the monopole only, without its significant support infrastructure and compound, viewed through a large number of mature trees. In reality, the location is utterly exposed and unshielded,” Mr Werner-Gibbings said.
The Wanniassa Hills sites were not suitable but the selected site was even more unacceptable.
Mr Werner-Gibbings said Indara chose the site and the onus was on Indara to fix this issue.
He called on the company to consult with the community properly to find a site that works for everyone.
“There are obvious, far more appropriate sites in and around Fadden that Indara did not consider,” he said.
“I am happy to suggest them to Indara, should they be bothered to contact us.”
Indara was at the centre of a row earlier in the year over the installation of another phone tower in Ainslie.
Comments have closed on the DA.
