A 26-metre Telstra phone tower will be built in St Helens after TASCAT overturned a council decision that rejected the structure as too tall and visually intrusive.
The Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal has ruled in favour of Amplitel Pty Ltd, directing Break O’Day Council to issue a permit for the monopole tower within 14 days.
The council had refused the application in March, as initially reported by Pulse, arguing the tower would breach height limits and harm the visual character of the coastal town’s low-rise streetscape.
The dispute centred on which planning rules should apply to the telecommunications facility.
Break O’Day Council argued the tower breached the 15-metre height limit for structures in the Utilities Zone under the Tasmanian Planning Scheme.
But Amplitel successfully argued a separate telecommunications code within the same scheme permitted towers up to 30 metres and that this specific provision should override the general height rule.
TASCAT agreed, finding the telecommunications code prevailed over the zone provisions.
“The specific provision in the Code should prevail,” the tribunal said in its decision handed down on 5 December.
The council’s expert planner described St Helens as having broad uniformity in terms of building height and bulk, with no structures exceeding two storeys.
She argued the tower would provide an extreme and intrusive contrast to the flat topography and broadly uniform low-rise building structure.
But the tribunal preferred evidence from Amplitel’s visual impact expert, who said the area is not visually sensitive to change.
The tribunal found the tower would be visible but not unreasonably intrusive, noting existing power poles, street lighting and the modified landscape would help mitigate visual impact.
“Although the tower will be visually prominent in some views due to its height and limited capacity for visual absorption, we do not consider the impact is unreasonable in all the circumstances,” the decision stated.
Telstra engineer Ramesh Perera told the tribunal the 26.3-metre height was the minimum required to reasonably provide reliable telecommunication coverage and capacity to the St Helens area.
The slim grey monopole will be positioned in the south-eastern corner of the 607-square-metre site, behind the existing Telstra exchange building.
It will support nine panel antennas on a headframe, with an outdoor equipment shelter at ground level.
The council has 21 days to apply for costs, otherwise each party will bear their own expenses.
