Council takes thoughtful steps to ensure the community is engaged

Taupō District Council has requested Two Degrees Mobile Ltd (2degrees) engage with the community before considering landowner approval for a cell phone tower on Tamatea Water Reservoir site.

Council received a request for approval as landowner from 2degrees to place a cell phone tower on the Tamatea Road site and asked the company representatives to gather feedback from the community before granting permission for use.

The request was to build for a 10.5m cell phone tower site on Council-owned land. The construction would consist of a telecommunications mast and associated equipment cabinet next to the Tamatea Water Reservoir off Tamatea Road.

Council deliberately withheld any decision on the matter at the full Council meeting in June recommending that 2degrees first consult with the affected community to clarify technical issues, gather the community’s view and ensure transparency in the process.

The community engagement is underway but not yet complete. 2degrees have agreed to work with Council officers to bring the results of the community engagement back to Council for consideration and for Council to make a decision on whether to grant a lease for the site.

Taupō District Council Group Manager, Operational Services, Gareth Green, says that Council made it clear that it was important to see the outcomes of the community engagement before making a decision as the landowner of the proposed site.

“We are not prepared to grant landowner approval to lease the land at this stage. We will need to be both mindful of the community’s concerns as well as the affects of the alternative options.”

Alternatively, 2degrees have the legal ability to install a number of towers on lampposts around town, some of which could potentially be closer to homes than those proposed for the Tamatea Water Reservoir. There may be more cell sites in the alternate proposal as the coverage would not be as broad as for the initial proposed site.

The Tamatea Water Reservoir site is Council owned. As landowner, Council would have the ability to lease the land and to decide if they will allow the activity on the land. This is different to a resource consent process.

Mr. Green noted that the resource consent was required only due to the size of the mast not the activity associated with it. “The mast was slightly over the permitted height contained in the Taupō District Plan due to the lightening rod on the top of the mast and that is the only factor that can be considered under the resource consent process. Legally, under the Resource Management Act, Council had no option but to approve the resource consent on a non-notified basis, however like any private landowner Council has the ultimate say on whether the activity can occur on its land.”

In an effort to establish a network in Taupō, the proposed 2degrees mast is one of a number that are being considered as the company to try to provide their own network as an alternative to the existing networks.