Perth locals ‘blindsided' by 35m tower installed near homes

Perth Now

23-04-2025

A 35m telecommunications tower installed without community consultation just metres from homes on the coast in Ocean Reef has left locals shocked and scrambling for answers.
Residents claim the tower practically went up within 24 hours late last year, with no prior notice or opportunity provided for community input on its location.
According to the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage, the telecommunications tower was installed to replace an existing structure nearby that had reached the end of its serviceable life.
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Locals are puzzled as to why the new tower was installed so close to homes and not at its original location near the Ocean Reef Sea Sports Club.
Speaking to PerthNow on behalf of frustrated residents, Ocean Reef local Kim Allen, who also has extensive experience in the telecommunications industry, said these concerns weren't able to be voiced earlier due to the lack of consultation.
'The Telecommunications Act provides significant powers allowing telecom carriers to construct infrastructure in the most technically suitable locations, but there's a whole range of legislation and guidelines to ensure community feedback is always considered,' Mr Allen said.
'Under normal circumstances, if a mobile communications tower is planned, two other options would be presented to the local council for consideration, but that didn't happen here.'
'Residents should have had the option for alternate locations to be presented for consideration.' The tower is 35m tall. Credit: Supplied
As the telecommunications tower falls under the Ocean Reef Improvement Scheme No.1, a planning framework for local development, some projects, like the tower, are exempt from public consultation and development application processes.
DevelopmentWA, the State Government's central land and development agency, owns the land where the tower now stands.
A spokesperson for the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage defended the decision to construct the tower at its current site, stating the location had been thoroughly considered.
'The replacement tower is located away from public areas within the Marine Enterprise Precinct to provide improved telecommunications coverage for the wider region,' the spokesperson said.
'A visual assessment was conducted as part of the development application, which found the slimline design of the tower does not significantly impede ocean views.'
However, visual amenity isn't the primary concern for residents, according to Mr Allen.
Many are more worried about the precedent set by the lack of consultation, as well as health concerns due to the tower's proximity to homes and potential exposure to electromagnetic energy (EME), which all towers emit. An aerial image of the location of the new tower and the one being decommissioned. Credit: Supplied
'Current electromagnetic energy monitoring is not capturing the levels of exposure to homes in close proximity to the towers,' Allen claims.
'If you had a smoking factory chimney, the EPA would monitor the chemicals and particulate being produced . . . the same logic should apply to mobile communications infrastructure.'
Under national guidelines for mobile phone towers, mobile carriers are required to complete an EME report based on standards set by the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency.
According to the Australian Communications and Media Authority, which is responsible for ensuring communications equipment and devices comply with the EME standards, the tower in Ocean Reef meets the required standards, and it believes there was an opportunity for public consultation.
'The ACMA has undertaken a preliminary review of the EME compliance documentation for the site and the EME assessment conducted for the facility,' a spokesperson for the ACMA said.
'The findings of the independent assessment were that it is well within the safe maximum exposure limit for EME.
'A review of the RFNSA site for the facility indicates that the community was invited to make comments about the proposal.'
However, after speaking to several residents, PerthNow understands that most residents were unaware of the opportunity to comment, and no notice was given. The 35-metre telecommunications tower near homes in Ocean Reef. Credit: Supplied
In October 2023, the City of Joondalup received an application seeking development approval for the installation of the telecommunications tower at Ocean Reef Marina.
According to city chief executive James Pearson, the city's role in the tower's approval process was for officers to assess the application against the relevant planning framework and provide a recommendation to the Western Australian Planning Commission, which the WAPC did not fully endorse.
'The city responded to the WAPC in November 2023, which included recommending public consultation be undertaken for a period of 28 days to properties within 400m of the subject site and a sign being erected on the site,' Mr Pearson said.
'The WAPC approved the application without undertaking public consultation.'
After the tower's construction, a motion was brought to the Joondalup council at the city's Electors AGM, urging the city to push for compulsory public consultation on future telecommunications installations.
'As a result (of the motion), the city will write to the Minister for Planning to advocate for enhanced public consultation on the installation of telecommunications infrastructure, including 5G towers and small cell towers, to ensure community concerns are adequately addressed,' Mr Pearson said.
According to the Radio Frequency National Site Archive, an environmental EME report found that the maximum level of EME from the new Ocean Reef Marina site was only 6.03 per cent of the maximum level permitted under national safety standards.
In early 2020, the ACMA also measured EME exposure at 59 small-cell sites across Australia, with all levels found to be less than one per cent of the Australian Standard exposure limit for the general public.
As of January 2023, Australia had about 26,000 mobile base stations, up from about 22,000 in 2018.
Nationally, there are 701 locations where EME levels have recently been monitored, with 18 of those in WA.
According to the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency, there are currently no known health effects from exposure to electromagnetic energy when it remains within national safety limits.
The energy emitted is a form of non-ionising radiation, similar to FM radio waves and heat.