The Local Planning Panel has refused the development of a telecommunications tower at Killcare Heights while acknowledging the importance of providing reliable mobile service to the local area at the earliest opportunity.
The proposed 32.5m tower at 37 Wards Hill Rd, Killcare Heights was refused, mainly due to Central Coast Council wanting more information.
The Panel considered the application did not contain adequate information to justify approval but it said there were opportunities to resolve the outstanding issues.
Ten speakers were registered to address the Panel, eight of them who wanted the tower to be approved and two against approval.
An Optus spokesman said he believed all the information had been submitted.
He asked for a deferral so staff could meet with Council staff to address their issues.
In November 2021, the previous planning panel approved the tower but it was overturned by the Land and Environment Court due to the application not meeting sections of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act such as not giving a valid reason for the consent and not taking bushfires into consideration.
Council had recommended the application be refused.
Residents talked about their frustrations with a mobile black hole and asked that everything be done to expedite its construction.
About 1,300 homes were negatively affected, one resident said, and the lack of mobile phone coverage meant a land line costing about $1,000 a year was necessary.
Another spoke about the high number of visitors who probably had no idea they had patchy mobile coverage and the problems that created in emergencies.
A document of more than 350 pages explained the issues.
Council mentioned insufficient fauna surveys; insufficient information for Council to undertake an assessment about visual impacts, insufficient information about Aboriginal heritage significance and inconsistent information between plans and reports on tree removal.
“Moreover, the Panel cannot be satisfied that the potential and likely impact on the identified fauna and flora from electromagnetic emissions from telecommunications towers is acceptable,” the staff report states.
A total of 98 submissions were received, 64 submissions in support and 34 objections.
The local progress association has been advocating for more than 10 years to plug their mobile phone black spots, one speaker adding that objections to the council-owned site, which is already home to a water tower, were spurious.
All major telecommunications carriers were to use the pole.
The matter is expected to return to Council.