Second phone tower upsets locals

By ABIGAIL CASPARI in Rotorua
Plans to install another 20m-high transmission tower in Rotorua have upset residents in Vaughan Rd.

Vodafone has confirmed it wants to build a transmission tower at 96 Vaughan Rd - a property used by Rotorua Forest Haulage.

The telephone company's spokeswoman, Veronica Ruddenklau, said the tower would be similar to the one proposed for Rotorua's Edmund Rd and would improve mobile telephone services in the eastside area.

The tower will feature six panel and two microwave dish antennae.

"The construction is similar but it's in a different zoned area. On one side there is undeveloped land and on the other is industrial," Ms Ruddenklau said.

Vodafone had consulted two of Rotorua Forest Haulage's closest neighbours and was still in the early stages of applying to the Rotorua District Council for resource consent, she said.

Rotorua Forest Haulage has confirmed the tower will be built on the back of its property, which the company leases.

A Rotorua Forest Haulage spokesman, who did not want to be named, said the agreement between his company and Vodafone was confidential.

He would not give any further details.

The spokesman would not confirm who owned the land and the company's owner, Colin Sargison, would not discuss the matter.

Phil Anaru was one of several Vaughan Rd residents spoken to by The Daily Post and the only person who was aware of the telephone company's proposal.

Mr Anaru said he only found out about the plans after his daughter, Hope, who lived about 50m away from the proposed site, received details from Vodafone.

Mr Anaru, who lives about 100m from the proposed site, is also a trustee of rural land next door to Rotorua Forest Haulage.

He is concerned a transmission tower could limit potential uses of the property.

He is also concerned about possible adverse health effects and the visual impact of the tower.

Other Vaughan Rd residents, who live between between 100m and 300m from the site, are also upset about Vodafone's plans, with some saying they will oppose the company's application for resource consent.

A woman who has lived in Vaughan Rd all her life, who did not want to be named, said she did not think the tower should be built there.

"We have got enough mills and mechanics around here."

Another woman, Heather Te Aonui, said she was not impressed to hear about the telephone tower and planned to oppose Vodafone's application.

"Why can't they build it [a telephone tower] on the hills away from people's houses?"

Resident Stephen MacDonald was concerned about possible adverse health effects and whether the tower would disrupt radio or television coverage.

He also questioned whether the tower would pose any risks for planes as the site was directly within Rotorua Airport's flight path.

Meanwhile, the council has received at least 50 submissions relating to the proposal for a tower to be built at the rear of Habitat Restore on Edmund Rd.

The council's planning services manager, Tracey May, said there were more submissions against the tower than in support of it.

Submissions, which closed on Friday, are in the hands of the council's planning department which will prepare a report.

The report will be sent to the statutory hearings committee and to those who sent submissions.



Western Heights Primary School principal Brent Griffin, who opposed the tower being built, has contacted Vodafone to find out about the health effects but has yet to hear back from the company.