Portion of Morley’s Crimea Park to be transformed to make way for 30m Amplitel telecommunications tower
A portion of an eastern suburbs sports reserve is set to be transformed to make way for a 30m telecommunication tower.
Bayswater City Council unanimously voted last week for 60sqm of Morley’s Crimea Park to be leased to telecommunications provider Amplitel to build telecommunications infrastructure and a monopole tower.
The popular inner-city park — which is co-owned by the State Government and the City of Bayswater — includes exercise equipment, a playground, tennis court, skate park and clubrooms.
Lands Minister John Carey will now grant the portion to Amplitel.
It comes two years after the council rejected Amplitel’s original application because of concerns the site would “undermine” the park’s amenity.
Amplitel went on to lodge a review with the State Administrative Tribunal, resulting in mediation to modify the original proposal.
The modifications — which include a repositioning of the monopole — were accepted by the council last October.
“Adequate and reliable telecommunications are essential for all aspects of contemporary community life, supporting the state’s economy and creating and maintaining connected and cohesive social networks,” a council staff report reads.
“It has been previously demonstrated that measures have been taken to ensure that the proposed development does not undermine the community recreational value and function of the reserve, therefore the co-location of infrastructure is appropriate to maximise the use of Crimea Park.”
