No objections received to the tower – Sky Coverage
A Farrarmere resident fears for his safety and that of his wife, as a new cellular phone tower has been built nearby, after he alone objected to the project.
Howard Fox said work on the tower, situated on the corner of Cambridge Street and Sheridan Road, started in July.
“When the notices went up for a new cellular mast installation, I objected to the first one in September 2014 and the second one in September 2015, both to the contractors and the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM), expecting to be one of many,” he said.
Rikus van Vuuren (site acquisition manager) and Aubrey Boshoff (property manager), from Sky Coverage, said the company applied for a cellular tower to be built on the site last year, while another company had applied in 2014.
Boshoff and van Vuuren said Sky Coverage followed all the necessary legal avenues to inform the public of the cell phone tower, including sending letters to homes near the tower and putting up notice boards on the fence of the property in which the tower was planned.
According to the representatives, their public participation process ran from April 11 to May 8, last year.
They further said approval for the project was given on June 5, last year.
Fox sent a letter of objection to the metro and Sky Coverage on May 4, 2015.
According to the Farrarmere resident, a tribunal hearing was held on September 17 of the same year, after which he received a letter from the metro, containing the hearing’s minutes.
In the letter, it was stated: “That the submission made by Mr B Borman (Torbious Solutions), on behalf of the applicant, be noted.”
According to the first objection letter sent by Fox, Torbious Solutions was the company which had applied for a cellphone tower on the site, in 2014.
“We (Sky Coverage) received no objections and no tribunal took place regarding our application,” van Vuuren said.
“Had a tribunal for our application taken place, we would not have been able to continue with the project as early as we did; it would have taken much longer.
“We would not take chances like that, if the project had not been approved by council.”
In response, Fox said: “As the tribunal took place after the second company had applied, I thought it was regarding their application.
“We are extremely concerned about the widespread, constant health risks associated with these masts, especially when they are in such close proximity.
“Our concerns relate to all the possible effects of chronic radio frequency waves (electromagnetic radiation), including the potential of carcinogenic possibilities or promotion.”
Boshoff said there is no conclusive evidence in either direction: “Research hasn’t proven whether it is dangerous or safe to live near a cellular tower.
“Some reports say that coverage from cell towers is up to 50km and 35km if there are hills. I have walked the Suikerbosrand with no mast in sight and I had perfect reception all the way round,” Fox added.
Boshoff responded with: “What many people don’t understand is: a new cellphone tower does not mean the signal strength needs to be increased, it is built to increase capacity for data transfer, which is now headed towards 5G (fifth generation mobile networks).”
The tower was completed in August.
The metro was approached for comment, but none was forthcoming at the time of going to print.
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