Unease at process for cell antenna
When parents-of-two Mark Sanders and Louise Lentino heard a cellphone antenna was proposed for the lamp-post outside their Napier home, they were sufficiently concerned to look closely at the proposal but they weren’t overly anxious.
But the closer they looked, the more anxious they became.
The proposal, by 2Degrees, involves erect- ing two cylindrical an- tennae at a height of 6.6 metres up the lamp-post.
In making the application to Napier City Council in July, the company noted it was a permitted activity under the National Environmental Standards for Telecommunication Facilities 2016 (NESTF).
Sanders and Lentino had a few concerns about the application, specifically how it addresses the standards, which are based on safe maximum exposure levels to the health effects of radio frequency fields.
Initially, 2Degrees sent a plan to the couple that only showed the plume of radiation where it would be at full strength. The NESTF includes standards for areas in which radiation coming from the antenna would be at 25 per cent strength.
The plan 2Degrees submitted to the council did show the 25 per cent line but showed it stopping at the boundary of Sanders and Lentino’s property. A later plan showed the 25 per cent line crossing the boundary line.
The NESTF state that: ‘‘If the 25 per cent or 100 per cent exposure contour intersects an area where there may be room for discussion about whether it is ‘reasonably accessible to the public’ (eg if the contour is less than 2m above an adjacent rooftop, or if the contour intersects a tree that may be climbable), it would be helpful for the pre-commencement report to state whether this area has been considered accessible, and if not, why.’’
The couple’s garage is beside the 25 per cent plume. There is also a tree near the lamp-post and Sanders says he would be within the plume whenever he trims the tree or clears his gutters.
A Napier City Council spokeswoman said council officers had considered the concerns but they ‘‘remain satisfied that the plans are compliant’’.
2Degrees head of property Ben Blakemore said the tree was not climbable, and ‘‘not somewhere someone would go about their normal course of activities’’.