Pirongia’s tower action group will argue it was a case of losing the plot.
Late efforts to encourage a rethink of the site for Pirongia’s cell tower have failed – and led to calls for a local body to be more vigilant.
The Pirongia Tower Action Group (TAG) says a “small plot” of land zoned commercial, amidst residential housing, and close to a school and daycare, has left the community vulnerable to exposure of radiofrequency radiation from the tower.
Here we go again – residents in Pirongia meet to discuss the proposed site of the new cell tower. Photo: Nick Empson
The community will have state of the art 5G coverage from the tower, 40 metres from some houses and a little over 100 metres from Pirongia School’s boundary.
“Going forward we would like [Waipa District] Council to carefully consider how it could better protect residents in the future,” a statement sent to The News by Ruth Webb of TAG said.
More than 2000 people backed a petition in 2019 opposed the site which was eventually settled on and announced as a fait accompli earlier this year.
TAG – re-established almost immediately – spent four weeks trying to communicate – without success – with Connexa, the company which made the announcement.
“Connexa was unwilling to meet with Pirongia residents, preferring only communication via telephone and email,” a TAG statement said.
Ruth Webb says with 5G being a new technology, questions remain about health and safety implications for residents living near a cell site.
“The past has taught us that new products to the market, even those initially considered to be wonderful inventions, need to be treated with caution.”\
Residents gathered on July 14, 2019 to discuss plans for the cell tower.
