Plans to construct a 20-metre high telecommunications facility next to Wattle Flat Public School has been approved.
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Bathurst Regional Council considered the development application (DA) at its ordinary meeting on May 20.
The DA proposed construction of a 20-metre high monopole to support a satellite small cell transmitter/receiver that will be linked to existing phone networks to boost local coverage, utilising 4G technology.
It will be built on a 2000 square metre site on Sofala Road, next to the Wattle Flat Public School, that is currently used as a Rural Fire Service depot.
Council's approval of the DA comes with several conditions.
These include that the applicant, BMM Group PTY LTD, is responsible for the maintenance and upgrading of infrastructure and the maintenance of the site.
BMM will have to provide council with a measurement of the electromagnetic energy (EME) levels at the nearest residence to the proposed site within 30 days of commissioning the facility.
Should any emissions other than electromagnetic radiation arise from the installation and operation of the structure, BMM Group is required to notify council and the relevant government departments and to recommend a preferred strategy of amelioration.
There is also a requirement for the monopole to be painted or finished in a neutral colour, not the "galvanised finish" initially proposed by the applicant.
The report on the DA noted that the structure won't be visually intrusive given its location, being over 70 metres from the nearest public roads, and the design.
"The design, being a slimline monopole, is considered to be visually discrete and therefore appropriate for the rural village setting," it said.
The proposed facility forms part of the Australian Federal Government's Mobile Black Spot Program and will provide improved Telstra mobile voice and data coverage to the village of Wattle Flat and the immediate surrounds.
