Telstra’s plan to build tower to upgrade Grange coverage upsets local residents

Grange locals are furious a mobile phone tower could be built at their bowling club – and have only two weeks to say anything about it.

The Grange Bowling Club is the proposed site for a Telstra tower.

Grange residents have turned to online fundraising in their battle against plans for a 30m phone tower at their local bowling club.

The residents have started the GoFundMe page – hoping to raise $5000 – to engage specialist planning lawyers to help them formally oppose Telstra’s plans for the tower at Grange Bowling Club.

They said they only learnt of Telstra’s plans on December 1, and were given just two weeks to lodge formal submissions on the proposal.

Under the plan, Telstra would pay the bowling club $18,000 in annual rent.

“For the bowling club to receive $18,000 a year from Telstra, it’s a real sellout of the surrounding residents,” local resident Jason Camery said.

He said residents had a range of concerns about the proposal, including its visual impact and the infrastructure not being suitable for a residential zone.

A protest sign against the Telstra tower proposed to be built at Grange.

Another resident, Nicola Tate, believed the tower would have a major visual impact, particularly as most surrounding properties were either one or two storeys tall.

“This tower is going to be more than 30m tall – about the height of a 10-storey apartment building,” said Ms Tate, adding that residents were also concerned about the potential devaluation of property prices.

Local MP Stephen Mullighan said his office had received a “flood” of calls from people concerned about the proposal.

“In my view, it’s an absolutely outrageous proposal,” Mr Mullighan said. “There’s no common sense justification for putting a mobile phone tower in that location.”

A Telstra spokesman said currently there was only 3G coverage in Grange.

The company wanted to provide 4G and 5G services to the area.

“The current site we are using is unsuitable for any further expansion, so a new site is proposed at the Grange Bowling Club,” the spokesman said.

“The options to locate a base station are limited within the Grange area to meet coverage requirements.”

A protest sign against the Telstra tower proposed to be built at Grange.

He said people had until next Tuesday to have their say on the plans and that “Telstra encourages local residents to have their say about current and future mobile coverage in the area”.

Peter Symons, from the Grange Bowling Club, said the club would not be commenting on the matter.