Archive navigationWelcomeHeadlinesSearch
.
CategoriesArchives
SettingsLog InCredits |
30/09/2008 at 21:38:57 PRESS RELEASE FROM BAN THE TOWER INC 30 September 2008 Nelson parents who formed Ban the Tower Inc to oppose the proposed Telecom celltower immediately next door to Atawhai Playcentre support the call for Telecom, Vodafone and NZ Communications to publicly list all their proposed sites for new celltowers and phonemasts. Last week Telecom acknowledged to the Local Government and Environment Select Committee the inadequacy of its consultation with the Atawhai, Nelson and Titahi Bay communities and the need for better consultation in future. Ban the Tower calls on Telecom to consult in a more open way before it commits to any particular site. ?Unless consultation is done with a genuine intent to listen to the views of the affected community and with a full exchange of information about all the risks and options then it is not really consultation at all?, said Sue Grey, environmental lawyer and spokesperson for Ban the Tower. ?Telecom must surely know its expansion plans well ahead of time. Why not work with communities early in the process to find suitable locations so there is community buy-in rather than community despair?? ?Telecom is in a position of power, but with that must come responsibly. Telecom chooses the locations and timing of its new towers to maximize it profit. However the neighbours bear all the costs. Most people don’t want a celltower beaming into their kids bedroom or into their kids’ classroom. At the very least, communities should be given information about all proposals, the risks and their options, and time to consider this. It is not fair to dump information about a new celltower on a community at the last minute and to listen only to the communities which are organized enough to shout very loudly. ? ?Communities such as Atawhai are put under a huge amount of stress when faced with last minute notice of a proposal to build a celltower close to a school, preschool or homes. The effects of electromagnetic radiation are still being researched but experts and governments around the world are increasingly calling for more caution about unnecessary exposure to EMR. Despite Telecom’s assurances that it has improved the way it goes about consultation, Ban the Tower still gets regular calls for help from communities around New Zealand. The most recent requests have come from Onehunga in Auckland, Shirley in Christchurch and Churton Park, Wellington. Sue Grey LLB(Hons), BSC For Ban the Tower Inc Atawhai, Nelson Please phone 03 5450878 for more information.
|
Tower message gets through to Telecom
Telecom has admitted that it could have recognised community concerns about cellphone towers better.
Telecom representatives fronted up yesterday to Parliament’s local government select committee, which is considering a petition signed by more than 3000 people opposed to a cellphone tower near a playcentre at Atawhai in Nelson.
The petition, started by Nelson group Ban the Tower, calls for no towers within a kilometre of schools and pre-schools and for consultation before towers can be erected.
The committee has also heard from concerned citizens in other areas, including Titahi Bay in Porirua. Opponents are worried about possible health risks and visual pollution.
Telecom was accused of erecting the towers without notice or consultation.
Telecom head of government and community relations Dean Schmidt said things could have been handled better.
"Telecom recognise we haven’t recognised the community engagement at Atawhai and subsequently in Titahi Bay as well as those communities would have expected."
He said Telecom was working with communities to find satisfactory alternative sites.
About 60 towers were built a year for the four million mobile devices used in New Zealand (not just cellphones, but things like wireless cards).
Sites were built to improve services and a radio frequency report done for each one.
Telecom said complaints were often about height, yet higher towers emitted less radiation.
Telecom local government and community relations manager Paul Leslie said the company did consult communities and complied with requirements under the Resource Management Act.
He said Telecom talked to local councils and, even when there was no requirement to consult, informed neighbours next to sites.
"We don’t just plough through and build sites overnight and people wake up to find them there the next morning."
Telecom had stopped projects in both Atawhai and Titahi Bay because of community concerns, he said.
National MP Nick Smith welcomed Telecom’s approach.
"I’m pleased you’ve come along this morning with a mea culpa and said you could have done better."
He accepted towers needed to be near customers but said putting one on the corner of a playcentre seemed extreme.
Telecom said the site was chosen because it was zoned commercially and an existing telephone exchange building was there, but it accepted that the use was different.
Dr Smith said Telecom needed to find a middle ground to apply nationwide.
Green MP Sue Kedgley said close neighbours were told only shortly before construction started and that was not genuine consultation.
She questioned officials from the health and environment ministries about the New Zealand Standard for radio frequency radiation fields.
The Environment Ministry submission said the standard set limits for public exposure 50 times lower than the level at which health effects could arise.
Ministry official Craig Mallett said there were controls on siting of towers under district plans, which were subject to extensive consultations.
Ms Kedgley argued that there was research showing adverse health effects.
Dr Smith said cellphone and microwave use were more worrying as the levels of radiation were far higher.
Technorati Tags: Letters and mails, Tower message gets through to Telecom
 |
Thursday, 25 September 2008 |
Telecom admits mistakes over cellphone towers
Telecom today said it could have recognised community concerns about cellphone towers better.
Telecom representatives today fronted up to the local government select committee which is considering a petition signed by more than 3000 people opposed to a cellphone tower at Atawhai in Nelson by a Playcentre.
The petition, started by Nelson group Ban the Tower, calls for no towers within 1km of schools and pre-schools and for consultation before towers could be erected.
The committee has also heard from concerned citizens in other areas including Titahi Bay in Porirua. Opponents are worried about possible health risks and visual pollution.
Telecom was accused of erecting the towers without notice or consultation.
Telecom head of government and community relations Dean Schmidt recognised things could have been handled better.
"Telecom recognise we haven’t recognised the community engagement at Atawhai and subsequently in Titahi Bay as well as those communities would have expected."
He said Telecom was working with communities to find satisfactory alternative sites.
About 60 towers were built a year for the 4 million mobile devices (cellphones but also things like wireless cards) used in New Zealand.
Sites were built to improve services and a radio frequency report done for each one.
Telecom said often complaints were about height yet higher towers gave off less radiation.
Telecom local government and community relations manager Paul Leslie the company did consult with communities and complied with requirements under the Resource Management Act.
He said Telecom talked to local councils and, even when there was no requirement to consult, informed neighbours adjacent to sites.
"We don’t just plough through and build sites overnight and people wake up to find them there the next morning."
Telecom had stopped projects in both Atawhai and Titahi Bay because of community concerns.
National’s Nick Smith welcomed Telecom’s approach.
"I’m pleased you’ve come along this morning with a mea culpa and said you could have done better."
He accepted towers needed to be near customers but putting one on the corner of a playcentre seemed extreme.
Telecom said the site was chosen because it was zoned commercially and an existing telephone exchange building was there but accepted that the use was different.
Dr Smith said Telecom needed to find a middle ground to apply nationwide.
Mr Schmidt said while sites were safe they preferred not to build near schools.
Green MP Sue Kedgley said close neighbours were only told shortly before construction started and that was not genuine consultation.
Ms Kedgley questioned officials from the health and environment ministries about the New Zealand Standard for radiofrequency radiation fields.
The Environment Ministry submission said the standard set limits for public exposure 50 times lower than the level at which health effects could occur.
Environment Minister manager of RMA implementation Craig Mallett said there were controls on siting of towers under district plans and the plans were extensively consulted.
He said councils could put controls on things like height limits; "but it shouldn’t be used a backdoor method to control the radiation issue".
Ms Kedgley argued that there was research showing adverse health effects.
She asked if the Crown would be liable for compensation if there were found to be health effects.
Mr Mallett said he was unsure but "possibly".
He said the standard was based on the best evidence and science available.
Dr Smith said cellphone and microwave use were more worrying as the levels of radiation were far higher.
- NZPA
Technorati Tags: Letters and mails, Telecom admits mistakes over cellphone towers
From Peton HeraldCell tower CEO invited to explain ?big stick’
By Tim O’Connell
The technological boom in Hutt is set to continue with a resource consent application from NZ Communications to build a 15-metre cell phone tower in Maungaraki. The proposed site is in Honeysuckle Grove, north of the water tower - already home to the council-owned Smartlinx’s wireless equipment. But Maungaraki’s Colin Williams, who lives about 140 metres away, thinks the cell tower will destroy the ambiance of the area and is determined to make sure his voice is heard. With two panel antennas, four microwave dishes and a lightning rod attached, the proposed mast will extend to almost twice the height of the water tower. ?Essentially, it’s a big stick,? he said. Mr Williams is also wary of the threat of noise in the neighbourhood, which is currently limited to ?the odd lawnmower and a couple of tuis.? ?I’d be surprised if the CEO of NZ Communications would tolerate such an installation in his immediate neighbourhood. ?To that end, I invite him to visit for a coffee...to take in the ambiance and discuss why he thinks I should tolerate one in mine.? Should NZ Communications’ application be successful, Mr Williams believes more equipment will be added in the future. Until now, residents of the hillside suburb have had to rely on getting their cellphone reception from the Mount Crowther tower in Wainuiomata or other sites around Hutt. Mr Williams believes the new mast will boost reception but a less intrusive solution would be to build it further up the hill, where telecommunications equipment is already in place. The application has indicated radiation emitted would be low but Mr Williams is still worried by the mast’s closeness to residents. For now, Mr Williams’ focus is on gathering support for his cause, with an eye to seeking possible legal advice on the resource consent process. NZ Communications is aiming to set up a third mobile network in New Zealand. Submissions on the consent application close 5pm, October 7.
Technorati Tags: Letters and mails, Cell tower CEO invited to explain ?big stick’
| Nelson | Wednesday, 24 September 2008 |
Second airing for protest
Nelson’s anti-cellphone tower campaigners have been invited back to address a parliamentary select committee on the controversial issue.
Ban The Tower spokeswoman Sue Grey said the local government and environment select committee had asked them to answer more questions tomorrow as committee members felt it was a significant issue. The committee had indicated it would also continue looking at the topic after the election, she said.
The group, which got Telecom to delay erecting a cellphone tower near the Atawhai Playcentre this year so an alternative site could be explored, first met the select committee about two weeks ago.
Miss Grey said the group had done a lot of research into cellphones and cellphone towers and was concerned about the possible health risk they posed from electro-magnetic radiation.
She felt the topic was similar to asbestos and tobacco where health concerns about the products were not taken seriously until years after they were in use.
She said the campaigners were "gutted" that legislation allowing telecommunication companies to erect phone masts beside any public road without having to consult had already been signed off by Parliament.
She said it seemed that the only way for the community to stop cellphone towers being erected was to kick up a fuss. Miss Grey said the issue of cellphones was taken more seriously overseas, with the European Parliament recently calling for greater caution in mobile phone radiation standards.
She said that decision was based on a 2007 bio-initiatives report summarising 1500 studies that pointed out a range of health risks from emissions from cellphones and cellphone towers.
Miss Grey said it was difficult to understand why the Government seemed to be ignoring these overseas studies and kept believing there were no "health effects" associated with electro-magnetic radiation.
Telecom will also address the select committee on Thursday.
The company said in its submission it would be upgrading 1000 existing Telecom sites and constructing 300 new sites as it rolls out its new mobile network. It said it took the responsibility of building and operating mobile sites seriously and designed its mobile sites to minimise power usage and therefore exposure to radio frequency.
19/09/2008 6:20:36
An investigation into the health implications of cellphone towers has begun in Porirua, following concerns about one being built in Titahi Bay.
Residents have called for the review following the postponement of work on a tower within 30 metres of homes on Tireti Road. In response, the Porirua City Council has sought legal advice about its ability to regulate the towers under the government's Telecommunications Standards.
CEO Roger Blakeley says the council is looking both at the health implications and its own powers in regard to the towers. He says it is not just an issue for Porirua, but for all councils around the country.
 |
Dr Reuben is one of a group of residents living in close proximity to the Surfdale Bowling Club who are concerned about Vodaphones plans to erect two masts and a dish on the clubhouse roof and install three cabinets at the back of the building.
The residents are angry that Auckland City Council approved resource consent for the installation without notifying them.
Dr Reuben told Gulf News he thought there was significant literature from reputable scientists that suggest there is a case still to be answered about the safety of electro-magnetic force from transmitter towers.
While the jury is still out it is unfair and possibly foolish to deny the public a voice for their concerns, he said. Had the consent application been notified there might not have been such a strong reaction from residents.
Dr Reuben spoke of his concerns at last weeks Waiheke Community Board meeting. He said the behaviour of surveyors who first alerted residents to the proposed installation sounds a bit like the CIA. They had arrived in three vans and appeared to have waited until most people would have been at work.
Dr Reuben drew attention to a 2004 study in Israel which resulted in the government significantly tightening the rules about the location of cellphone masts in residential areas.
The study was conducted by doctors Ronni and Danny Wolf who compared incidents of cancer in patients at their respective clinics, one of which was within a 400-metre radius of a large transmitter. Patients at the clinic close to the transmitter had cancer rates at a much higher rate which could not be put down to coincidence, said Dr Reuben. It was also of concern that these were established within the short period of one year.
However, he was challenged by Nobilangelo Ceramalus who said the Israeli study involved a transmitter capable of a maximum power output of 1500 watts while the one proposed for Surfdale had a maximum output of 20 watts.
Mr Ceramalus said robust studies had established safe limits which were set at one-fiftieth of the level at which a problem can be expected. The New Zealand Safety Authority was set at one-hundredth of thatand the council standard was in turn only a quarter of that.
He said that faced with the information available to him, senior planner Anthony Yates had no choice but to approve the application.
But Mr Ceramalus said the council should have anticipated there would be concern among residents in proximity to the bowling club and been more open and transparent and contacted everyone with the facts from the National Radiation Laboratorywhich he had been in touch with.
It was the impression of sneaking it through that got people really angry, and rightly so. And that amplified their suspicions about the technical data.
Dr Reuben said he was not sure if Mr Ceramalus point about theIsrael study involving a 1500-watt transmitter compared to 20 watts was particularly relevant. He said that transmission frequency of the Israeli transmitter was 850MHz while at Surfdale it would be 2100MHz.
Before emigrating to New Zealand he was a consultant cardiologist at east Birmingham Hospital, and for five years was research director for cardiovascular studies at Pfizer in Connecticut in the United States.
Prior to retiring to the island six-and-a-half years ago he was physician cardiologist at Southland Hospital.
Tower activists urge MPs to change law
Tower activists urge MPs to change law - 12 Sep 2008 - Telecommunications news - NZ Herald
4:00AM Friday September 12, 2008
By Patrick Gower
Urgent law change is required to stop cellphone companies forcing towers upon communities wherever and whenever they want, MPs were told yesterday.
Sue Grey, of Ban the Towers, told the select committee considering the group’s 3100-signature petition of eight neighbourhoods with unwanted celltowers that often "only find out about them when workmen are climbing on the roof".
Residents of Waiheke Island’s Surfdale Beach found out about a Vodafone tower only when a woman recovering from breast cancer asked workers in "unmarked white vans" what they were doing.
Ms Grey, a Nelson environmental lawyer and scientist, said companies could put up towers as long as they were within New Zealand electromagnetic exposure limits. She questioned the standards, saying Austria’s, Russia’s and China’s were more than 100 times stricter.
Ms Grey said the law needed to be changed so people could have a say about towers.
She said the proposed National Environment Standards for Telecommunication should be amended so all cellphone towers and phone masts within 500m of any house, school, preschool or hospital were designated as non-complying and communities would have to be notified before they went up.
Ms Grey said cellphone towers were highly contentious and terrified people, which was an effect in itself.
"If we want to build a deck on our house or build a fence that’s 1.8m instead of 1.75m we’ve got to go through all these processes. If [cellphone companies] want to put up a celltower or a phonemast, they can do it as of right. One day it is not there, the next day it is and nobody can do a thing about it."
The hearing was interrupted from the public gallery by Vicky Webb, who emotionally told how her family chose not to use a microwave and made limited use of cellphones but returned from holiday to find a tower being put up 45m from her children’s window.
She said they wanted to move, but Quotable Value had told them it could knock 5-10 per cent off the value of their house, "so who reimburses us?"
National MP Nick Smith asked why cellphone towers might have controls put on them if the actual electromagnetic effect might be similar to what people tolerated when taking dinner out of the microwave.
Ms Grey said: "You can choose if you want to use a microwave or cellphones. If Telecom or Vodafone put a celltower next to your house you’ve got no choice at all."
Ms Grey said her group started when the Nelson playcentre her child attended found out Telecom was putting up "a 22m celltower with six transmitters about 5m from our sandpit", and was now spreading quickly through communities with similar concerns.
A written submission from Telecom said it handled "community engagement" on a case-by-case basis, with some communities desperate to get sites to improve coverage, while others had concerns about property prices and perceived health impacts.
Woburn residents allege lack of consultation on cell towers - Hutt Valley news
| YVONNE AIREY - Hutt News | Tuesday, 02 September 2008 |
Woburn residents allege lack of consultation on cell towers
Some residents in the Knights Road area are concerned that they haven’t been consulted over a proposal to erect a telecommunications microwave tower and related equipment on top of the Waterloo Interchange building.
One resident believes the Hutt City Council has only sent information to a select few properties right opposite, including Omega Wigs at 214 Knights Road, Take Five and the dairy adjacent.
"This seems totally wrong and several homeowners/residents in the area who have learned of the application are concerned at the implications for them, their families and their property values if that application is approved and the towers and other equipment pods proceed."
Another concern is for the many pregnant women and children who regularly use the railway/bus station. They want to be assured this equipment is safe.
The application to install the equipment has been lodged by Auckland-based New Zealand Communications Ltd, which according to media reports aims to be New Zealand’s third mobile phone operator.
Council planning officer James Beban says the proposed tower has been assessed as a "restricted discretionary" activity, and as such "there are only certain factors we can take into account". These include the design and external appearance of the equipment, site layout, noise and the like. As the tower is to be set back from the edges of the interchange building "and is quite low", it will only really be able to be seen by a limited number of properties (mainly the commercial premises notified), Mr Beban says.
Another factor that can be taken into account is health and safety. But as the proposed tower and equipment meets the New Zealand standard in terms of electromagnetic frequency, that’s not likely to result in the council refusing consent. Mr Beban says "99.9%" of cellphone towers in New Zealand meet the standard.
He believes such towers are "not so contentious" in the Hutt as some other places because they don’t tend to be located in residential areas here and rather than being separate structures, our District Plan encourages telecommunication companies to put them on top of existing commercial buildings to limit the visual intrusion.
There have been studies that have indicated possible links between low-level electromagnetic radiation and cancers, with other symptoms including rashes, fatigue and headaches. But according to a recent Dominion Post report, radio frequencies emitted by cellphone towers are non-ionising, which means that, unlike x-ray machines, they are not considered energetic enough to change dna and bring about cancer.
The Dominion Post quotes Sydney University professor Bruce Armstrong as saying studies to date have proven no links to adverse health. "There really isn’t any clear mechanism whereby mobile phone energy can cause cancer. They have been around now for 10-15 years....It would be likely that if something was going on and it was big, we would be seeing it."
The deadline for objections to NZCL’s tower on Waterloo interchange proposal is 16 September.
Despite three calls to the company last week, and an undertaking by the national sales manager to get someone to ring us back, we did not get a chance to ask NZCL about its plans locally. Earlier media reports have said the company employs more than 120 staff in New Zealand, and is building cellphone towers in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch as it builds up to a nationwide launch of services. It has a roaming agreement in place with Vodafone.
Hutt City Council recently advertised bids by NZCL to put cellphone towers on council-owned sites, in Parkway (Wainuiomata), Honeysuckle Grove (Maungaraki) and Shaftsbury Grove (Stokes Valley). James Beban explains these were widely advertised because they were applications to lease areas of council land managed as recreation reserve (not consent applications). Objections to leasing these sites closed 29 August.
This website is a single issue community site dedicated to reflecting the current concerns of the people in the area of Corder Park, Nelson. The content is under constant review and is changed and updated regularly by volunteers. Thank you for visiting and please check back soon for the latest reports.
