General News
30 August, 2025
Telstra tower DA approved
A long-awaited Telstra telecommunications tower has been given the green light, with councillors voting unanimously in favour of the development application at the August meeting.
Held on Tuesday, August 19, an extensive summary of Telstra’s proposed development was presented to councillors in the business paper.
The application sought approval for the construction of a new telecommunications tower and associated infrastructure at 76 Wamboin Street, Gilgandra, on Telstra’s existing exchange site. The tower will expand mobile capacity, providing both 4G and 5G coverage across the area, with Telstra noting it will significantly enhance service to residential areas including the Pines estate and outlying parts of town.
The tower proposal has been strongly supported by residents and businesses who have long campaigned for improved mobile coverage in the district. The community has consistently identified reliable communications as a top priority - not only for day-to-day connectivity but also for safety during emergencies.
GSC’s manager of planning and development, Kristy Cosier, addressed the meeting explaining the process of assessment for the development application.
During the community consultation period in June/July this year, council received one objection to the tower, citing safety concerns for electromagnetic radiation, line of sight issues for the neighbouring telescope, and ongoing noise issues with the cooling system for the tower.
Mrs Cosier said the development assessment process addressed the objection concerns and they were all included in the business paper.
Locations considered
The council report showed that Telstra investigated 12 alternative locations, as well as co-location on existing towers, but all were ruled out for structural or coverage reasons.
• GrainCorp silo (existing site) – structurally unsuitable and would not provide required coverage.
• Optus lattice tower, 16 Morris Street (near IGA supermarket) – older style lattice tower, not structurally able to support the new infrastructure.
• NBN tower, Newell Highway (40m monopole) – outside Telstra’s target coverage area and would not service western parts of Gilgandra.
• Other locations such as the Rural Museum site, Wastewater Treatment Plant, and a new GrainCorp tower were also assessed but found not viable.
Telstra concluded that the approved site at 76 Wamboin Street was the most appropriate, as it could use existing infrastructure like the exchange building, power and fibre connections, and provide the strongest, most reliable coverage for the township.
Emissions Safety
Independent testing of electromagnetic emissions (EME) confirmed the new tower will operate well within national safety standards:
• Current EME at the small cell facility on the site is 0.56 per cent of the public exposure limit set by the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA).
• With the new tower in place, EME levels are predicted to rise to just 1.06 per cent of the public limit at 1.5 metres above ground within 500 metres.
Council emphasised that the tower’s emissions are well below the 100 per cent allowable threshold, will be subject to ongoing monitoring, and present no public health risks. The new tower will also total only 27 per cent of the current EMEs of the lattice tower in Morris Street.
Next Steps and Conditions
With approval secured, Telstra is expected to commence construction later this year. As part of the consent conditions, the company must also pay a Section 7.12 development contribution to council before the issuing of the construction certificate.
Section 7.12 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 allows local councils to collect monetary contributions from developers to help fund public infrastructure and services. Projects over $200,000 attract a levy of one per cent.
The exact amount will be finalised in consultation with council once detailed costs are confirmed but will be approximately $2967 (plus consumer price index) for the total estimated development cost of $593,450.
Other conditions for the approval include:
• Construction management – detailed plans to control noise, dust, and traffic during the build. The existing satellite infrastructure on the site in place since 2021 will be removed.
• Height and aviation safety – compliance with Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) requirements, including notification for crane use during construction.
• Lighting restrictions – tower and compound lighting must be designed to avoid glare and protect night-sky visibility, as per the Warrumbungle Dark Sky Park rules.
• Landscaping and screening – vegetation screening around the equipment compound to soften visual impacts.
• Ongoing compliance – the facility must remain within ARPANSA’s EME safety standards, with emissions re-tested if upgrades occur.
Once operational, the tower will provide greater reliability, faster data speeds, and stronger connectivity across the shire.
The development represents a significant milestone in meeting community demand for better telecommunications, a campaign that has been highlighted in The Gilgandra Weekly over recent months.
