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A matter of urgency regarding Telstra’s 5G technology rollout was brought before Byron Shire Council’s recent meeting.
Before the meeting closed on Thursday afternoon, the motion was brought before the council by Cr Sarah Ndiaye and deputy mayor Michael Lyon.
Mayor Simon Richardson allowed the matter of a planned upgrade of an existing communications tower at Bottlebrush Crescent in Suffolk Park to be put to a debate as an urgent item, in light of the fact submissions on the proposal are due prior to May 3.
They asked that the council send an objection to Telstra for a range of reasons, including the fact Byron Bay Preschool is 300m from the tower, the Beech Flying fox camp is 100m away and the council “is still yet to see a comprehensive plan as to how 5G could be implemented across the shire safely and with appropriate infrastructure with real time monitoring”.
Celebrities and cashed-up city folk flocking to Byron Bay have forced up house prices 36 per cent in just a year as locals struggle to find a home.
The once-sleepy hippie haven on the New South Wales far north coast used to be lined with plenty of affordable shacks near the beach.
But in recent years, those fibro houses have been bulldozed and replaced with water view mansions, some taking up three blocks.
Movie stars like Chris Hemsworth and Zac Efron also moved into the town that was once renowned for its barefoot artists, surfers and rainbow bus tours to Nimbin.