Surf Coast residents are opposing a proposed telecommunications tower for Bells Beach through a community petition.
The 35 Meter Phone Tower Objection petition was submitted to Surf Coast Shire Council during its meeting on September 23, which urged council to reject a planning permit application for a tower at 185 Addiscott Road.
Council chief executive Robyn Seymour said she understood that there was a lot of concern regarding what was proposed with the tower.
“Councillors and council are aware of the level of community concern in relation to the proposed telecommunications tower,” she said.
“As with any application, the applicant has the right to apply, and council must then assess whether the proposal is appropriate and consistent with the planning scheme.
“We’ll continue to make sure the community is kept informed about the planning process and the outcome of the application.”
The petition consisted of 705 signatures, with 201 signatures from people within the Surf Coast Shire municipality and 388 from elsewhere in Victoria.
Torquay’s David Salveson addressed council during the meeting’s public question time and said he was worried that the proposed tower would have a negative impact on the area.
“Bells Beach surrounds significant landscape overlay, which aims to encourage discrete placement of simple unobtrusive structures,” he said.
“The application argues that the tower provides for protracted growth in the area, but the area is primarily made-up of five-to-ten-acre blocks that can’t be subdivided and have been identified as a non-growth area through numerous council plannings.”
