Council officer recommends refusal of 29m phone tower in Buderim residential area
Plans to build a 29.2m telecommunications tower in Buderim have been recommended for refusal, with a council officer citing visual impacts, proximity to homes and community opposition.
The tower, proposed by Indara Infrastructure Pty Ltd to host Optus equipment, would be built at 33 Rim Road on land above an existing water reservoir.
The proposal includes a 25-metre monopole topped with a 4.2-metre ‘turret’ carrying six panel antennas — three supporting 4G and three for 5G services — along with associated ground-level equipment within a fenced compound.
The officer’s report says the facility would be intended to “provide network services to parts of north Buderim and south-west Maroochydore, including areas along Wises Road, within the Wises Farm development site, and within Sunshine Cove”.
But according to the report, which was prepared for Sunshine Coast Council ahead of its consideration of the matter at its December 11 meeting, the application does not comply with the planning scheme and should be rejected.
“Assessment of the proposal has determined that whilst the tower would provide for improved coverage outcomes to the target area, it would be highly visible at some locations and would cause amenity impacts to private properties and public spaces, particular those in close proximity to the subject site,” it said.
A total of 125 properly made submissions were received during the public notification period from January 28 to February 18 this year.
“All but three of these submissions oppose the proposal,” the report said.
Many submissions objecting to the proposal came from residents living within 400m of the site, where about 285 homes are located.
“Overall, the visual impact assessment undertaken by the applicant and by council, and level of community opposition, indicates that the proposal would have unacceptable amenity impacts to nearby residents, and any coverage benefit is insufficient to overcome the identified conflicts with the assessment benchmarks in the planning scheme,” the report said.
“On balance, it is considered that the application has not clearly demonstrated that there is a compelling economic need, planning need or overriding community interest to justify approval of the proposal.”
The officer’s report acknowledges the infrastructure would comply with government regulations on emission of electromagnetic energy.
The original application was submitted to the council in December 2024, with a town planning report by Indara saying the tower would address phone coverage issues in the area.
“Providing coverage to the north face of Buderim has been historically difficult due to the predominantly low-density dwelling development pattern and the terrain,” it said.
“Coverage and customer experience have deteriorated further due the development in and around Sunshine Cove and the increased demand that development has placed on the existing network.
“It has been demonstrated that telecommunications facilities are commonly co-located at water reservoir sites in Buderim, the Sunshine Coast and Queensland. If there are telecommunications facilities co-locating at most water reservoirs in the greater Buderim area, it is reasonable to concur that telecommunications facilities at water reservoirs inform the character of Buderim and that our proposal is therefore consistent with that character.”
Indara owns and manages more than 4300 mobile telecommunications facilities across Australia and operates as a “neutral host” for mobile carriers, government agencies and other wireless services providers.
