Walkout fear over phone mast

COLIN SMITH/Nelson Mail

CONCERNS: Atawhai Playcentre vice-president Heather Arnold and her daughter Holly, left, and president Sarah Allen with daughter Beatrice. Telecom plans to build a cellphone tower next to the playcentre.

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Leaders of a Nelson playcentre, upset over plans to build a 22m-high cellphone tower metres from where dozens of preschoolers play, fear parents will pull their children out.

Telecom is set to build a cellphone mast at its Atawhai exchange site at Atawhai Crescent in June.

The exchange is next to the playcentre, which cares for up to 70 children, from newborns to six-year-olds.

Playcentre president Sarah Allen, who has three children there, said the centre only became aware of the plan about 10 days ago, after another neighbour had seen people working at the Telecom site and asked them what was going on.

The neighbour then informed the playcentre.

"We were all pretty shocked about it, being the nearest neighbour and not telling us."

Centre vice-president Heather Arnold said they were concerned about the possible health effects on growing children, and the long-term viability of the playcentre.

Scientific research internationally is divided on whether there are health dangers from radio frequency waves from cellphone masts.

"Why would you send your children here when you've got other playcentres to send kids to?" Mrs Arnold said.

"(The mast) should be away from where people are living, playing and developing."

Mrs Allen said two families had already indicated that if the mast was built they would remove their children from the playcentre.

Both women expressed surprise when they found out Telecom did not legally have to inform them of its intentions.

Mrs Arnold said it would have been "neighbourly" to inform the playcentre as early as possible.

Centre organisers only received information about the plan once they approached the Nelson City Council and Telecom with their concerns.

The centre would be starting a petition to stop the work, and would consider shifting to another location if too many of the children were removed.

Telecom spokesman Ian Bonnar said cellphone masts were not dangerous to people's health.

"All Telecom mobile phone sites comply fully with the New Zealand Standard for radio signal power levels.

"Sites like the one being built at Atawhai are low-powered and they operate well within the level set by the New Zealand Standard."

As the mast is planned for a site zoned for telecommunications equipment in the council plan, no formal consent was required, but Telecom submitted its plans to the council anyway. The council made no recommendations.

Mr Bonnar said Telecom usually consulted with neighbours after speaking to the council, but did so earlier on this occasion, when the playcentre approached it.

"We are doing everything we can to help them, we have taken several steps to engage and provide them with information."

The mast was being installed to increase mobile phone capacity and the site was deemed most appropriate.

- © Fairfax NZ News