Mobile coverage woes will continue across St Helens for the foreseeable future after the Break O’Day Council unanimously rejected plans to build a new 26.3-metre telecommunications tower.
At a meeting this week, councillors voted against the Telstra proposal in line with the state’s planning scheme, which had recommended its rejection.
The planned tower, set to be built in the heart of the east coast town, would have exceeded height restrictions, which limits structures in utilities zones to a maximum of 15 metres.
Councillors cited “an unreasonable loss of visual amenity” as the primary reason for rejection, with a senior town planner noting the tower would be highly visible within strategic view lines that contribute to the town’s identity.
Measuring 33.3 metres from sea level, the tower was intended to upgrade St Helens from its current small cell antenna to 5G capability.
Digital Tasmania spokesperson John Allan said the rejection was a setback for mobile services in the region.
“Fundamentally this means mobile services and coverage in the area are not going to be as good as they would have been with the addition of this tower,” he told Pulse.
“All new towers are installed by companies like Telstra for a purpose and that is either to enhance their coverage, to add coverage to new areas that don’t have coverage, or in areas that do already have coverage, to make that coverage better.”
Allan pointed out that St Helens, like other tourist hotspots, suffers from severe network congestion during peak holiday periods.
“In the lull of tourism season, everything works fine, but in peak tourist season and on the long weekends and on the weekends, everything slows to a crawl and you might even have trouble getting phone calls through,” he said.
St Helens has long struggled with mobile coverage, with Telstra previously deploying a temporary ‘Cell on Wheels’ solution to ease the pressure.
But Telstra’s Tasmanian manager Michael Patterson told Pulse this was not a long-term fix and that the community deserves better mobile connectivity.
“We’re disappointed with council’s decision and are considering our options, which may include appealing the decision at the [Tasmanian Civil and Administrative] Tribunal,” he said.
“While other locations were reviewed as part of the process, the Telstra exchange at 14 Bowen Street was identified as the most suitable location for a new telecommunications facility following a comprehensive analysis of planning, environmental and engineering considerations.”
“Its central location within the commercial precinct, combined with its existing telecommunications infrastructure, makes it the ideal and logical choice for a permanent solution to improve mobile coverage and network capacity for St Helens.”
The St Helens tower was planned as a co-investment project, jointly funded by Telstra and the state government.
Minister for Innovation, Science, and the Digital Economy Madeleine Ogilvie said the state is aware of the decision.
“We are waiting on advice from Telstra about whether they will appeal the decision or whether they will consider other locations that would deliver similar coverage,” she said.
