Digital infrastructure company FortySouth has begun upgrades to the tower on Beachville Rd and the Christchurch Coastal Pathway, which involves installing a new tower less than a metre away from the existing site.
But locals and community organisations say the new tower, which is more than twice as wide as the existing one, should be relocated.
“That tower will dominate all the views,” Redcliffs resident Zara Fleming said.
“This is a really special place so it deserves special consideration.”
Work to upgrade the existing tower, built in 2003, began in late March.
The tower will be the same height as the existing one, and will remain in the same area, FortySouth head of external affairs Lisa Mulitalo said.
“The cell site . . . will not extend any further into the footpath than the existing equipment,” Mulitalo said.
However, it will be wider. The existing pole has a diameter of 11.4cm. The new pole has a diameter of 27.3cm.
“We have selected the slimmest pole possible to structurally support the new equipment,” Mulitalo said.
Work is currently on hold until April 20, so FortySouth and One NZ can communicate plans to nearby residents, as they failed to do so in an initial letter.
“Detailed plans were not initially shared with neighbours, but that has now been done and we have apologised for not doing this when we first wrote to them,” Mulitalo said.
In the new letter sent to residents, FortySouth provided an email address for queries and feedback.
“We would be disappointed to see (the current tower) getting more obtrusive,” Redcliffs Residents’ Association secretary Pat McIntosh said.
The association was alerted to the details of the upgrade by a resident on Saturday, April 1.
“Before then we only knew works were happening,” McIntosh said.
“The company is quite correct to say they can rebuild where they are . . . we’re just asking them to consider other options.”
Fleming, who lives nearby, sought out more information after receiving a letter in her mailbox stating there would be an upgrade.
She said an installation crew arrived on Thursday, March 30.
She said she was told by the crew the tower would only be slightly wider.
When the new pole was bought to the site, Fleming thought it was massive.
“I thought, that’s not slightly wider, it’s huge,” she said.
“You couldn’t tell how much bigger it was going to be,” she said.
Like the resident’s association, Fleming is asking FortySouth to investigate other locations.
She also thinks the company should have consulted the community and residents.
“If you’re a private company using public land, you have a responsibility to properly consult with the people affected,” Fleming said.
City council head of planning and consents John Higgins said consultation is usually the responsibility of the operator.
“Sometimes, if the cell tower significantly exceeds the standards, then formal consultation is undertaken under the resource consent process.
“This wasn’t the case here.”
“CCPG was not consulted on the proposed changes to the cell tower, which will block a large section of the pathway. Our position is that the placement of any structures on the pathway is unacceptable.”
Sander said the group’s main concern was structures built on the path.
“We don’t want structures built on the pathway blocking the path of users,” he said.
The cellphone tower upgrade is part of a nationwide programme FortySouth has been carrying out over the last couple of years. It has been both upgrading and building new towers throughout New Zealand, as well as working on other sites in Christchurch.
