Optus and a digital infrastructure provider have been forced to get creative with plans for a new phone tower for a populated coastal strip.
The Indara Group and Optus are proposing to incorporate a 13.2m phone tower into the signage at a small Nicklin Way business centre after being unable to find a suitable location elsewhere in the Kawana area.
The proposed tower will be concealed within a fibreglass shroud at 114 Nicklin Way, Warana, and integrated within the signage for the resident businesses: a dentist, fresh breath clinic and another for teeth aligners.
A town planning report submitted with the application says the tower will supply 4G and 5G services to the Warana area.
“The purpose of the project is to significantly improve Optus mobile telecommunications services, including coverage and network capacity, in the surrounding area,” it says.
The report says it was difficult to find a suitable location for a tower given an 8.5m height limit throughout the area.
“Indara has explored options outside the target coverage area with more compatible height limits and zoning as well as co-location options, however no feasible solution could be found,” it says.
“A new structure outside the target coverage area will need to be significantly taller to service the area as it’s located further away and coverage overlapping with other nearby Optus facilities becomes an issue as one moves further outside the target coverage area.
“Other options include rooftop facilities on apartment buildings within Kawana Waters, however, after over two years of searching and site visits, no viable candidates could be found due to a combination of factors including lack of landowner interest, non-centrality to the search area and structural design constraints of host buildings.”
The report says one existing tower site at Technology Drive was outside of the target area and too close to another at Production Avenue, and others at Kawana Shoppingworld and on Kawana Way, Mountain Creek, cannot be upgraded to the extent required.
The prospect of rooftop towers was put to the owners of three properties on Grand Parade, Parrearra, and another on Nicklin Way, who were not interested, while another site further south on Nicklin Way would need a taller tower, which Sunshine Coast Council did not want.
The report says that, in light of the difficulties, the best solution was a tower as central as possible to the target coverage area to allow for the lowest possible height with the least number of antennas.
Notes from a pre-lodgement meeting with the council indicate the proposed tower might struggle to get approval.
The area is zoned medium density residential, with a nursing home to the west and low-density residential across the road.
“It is advised that due to the zoning, height restrictions and proximity to many residential properties, it is unlikely that the proposal would be supported at 114 Nicklin Way, Warana,” say the notes, which are included with application documents.
“It is possible that there would be a level of community opposition to a tower on the subject site.
“Whether these issues can be overcome as part of a development application is unknown at this stage due to the complexity of the issues, unknown submitter interest and lack of supporting information (for example, over-riding need in the community interest for the proposal on this site) provided at the time of this meeting.”
Public submissions on the tower close on October 15.
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