WHILE the owner of the property on Stockdale Road in Winklespruit is adamant that the proposed cellphone tower is harmless, the neighbours believe it is much more than their health that could be at risk.
This comes after a group of Winklespruit residents were made aware of a notice for a 23 metre cellphone tower that could go up on their neighbour’s yard (Community opposes tower – October 31).
Raymond McClean, who lives across the road for the proposed site, said he fears what effect the radiation from the tower could have on him as he already suffers from chronic ailments.
“They say there is no harm to living things caused by these towers, but there has been evidence of people dying from cancer after these towers were built in their neighbourhoods. There are just too many coincidences,” said McClean.
As an epileptic, he fears that the radio frequency from the tower might cause a severity of his symptoms.
According to scientific studies, there has been no conclusive evidence that cellphone towers are harmful to humans and other organisms.
Carol Lane said the perceived negative effects alone are enough to drive a lot of people away from the area.
“There are a lot of older people who live in this neighbourhood and most of them are sickly. This tower is going to make things worse,” said Lane.
She added that since there has been an increase in incidents of batteries being stolen from towers, having one so close by might attract criminals to the area.
Another resident, Karen Lithgow, said after doing her own research and speaking with people who work in real estate, a cellphone tower can affect the value of the property negatively.
“The question is: why build it here? Why can’t it not be built on the other side of the freeway?” asked Lithgow.
All three said they have forwarded written submissions to the provided addresses, but they have not received any confirmation whether they were received.
An email with questions was sent to the applicant and no reply was received. Phone calls to the number proveded for feedback were also not answered.
The deadline for lodging objections is November 22, and members of the public can forward written objections to the municipality’s regional coordinator where they can be dropped in the box at the municipality at:
Sizakala Center, 6-11 Gracedale Avenue, Winklespruit.
The written objections also need to be sent to the applicant at:
Holku & Associates (PTY) Ltd PO Box 978 Umhlanga Rocks, 4320.
For objections to be valid, they need to be sent to both addresses before the deadline.
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