'Visual pollution': Kelburn residents oppose cellphone tower next to St Michael's Anglican Church

Residents in the upmarket Wellington suburb of Kelburn are campaigning to stop a 14.5m-cellphone tower being built in front of a church.

Telecoms infrastructure company Connexa plans to install a cell tower for Spark next to the St Michael's Anglican Church on Upland Road, with work to start in a couple of weeks.

Kelburn Residents Association spokesperson John Swan said he learnt about the project through letters sent by Connexa to locals at the end of June.

"It caused considerable concern across the community. I and others started to correspond with Connexa."

He told RNZ Connexa was helpful and communicative, but did not resolve "some of the basic problems".

The company said it had spoken with locals and sought to mitigate the tower's impact on them.

Swan said he did not oppose a new cellphone tower, just its placement.

"I oppose it because if they're on the footpath, it's going to mean obstruction to pedestrians. I oppose it - these towers are not things of beauty. And if you park them against buildings that have some heritage value, as St Michael's does, it's going to impact on that heritage value."

He called the erection of the tower "visual vandalism", and was worried the hum from the cabinets and tower might interfere with services at the church.

Instead the tower could go in the parking lot behind the church, next to the other two cellphone towers already there, he said.

After raising their concerns with Connexa and Spark, the Residents Association went to Wellington City Council. But its hands are tied, it told RNZ - the cellphone tower did not require consent from the council under the Telecommunications Act.

Connexia did request a certificate of compliance despite not being required to do so, which the council granted, as the project followed standards.

But the council said it could not intercede on residents' behalf.

As a result, the Residents Association have launched a social media campaign and a petition to sway Connexa and Spark into moving the tower's proposed location.

Connexa said multiple locations had been assessed and the chosen site was "the most suitable option as it delivers the required coverage and performance improvements for the area".

Connexa said it had designed the tower to reduce visual and physical obstruction,

"This includes integrating the existing speed sign onto the tower to maximise footpath space, relocating equipment cabinets onto St Michael's Crescent, reducing the cabinet footprint, and painting the cabinets green to better blend with the surrounding streetscape and existing pōhutukawa tree."

It said it would continue to engage with locals throughout construction, which was slated to begin in late August.

Spark said it was investing in its network as mobile usage grows and shifts to more data-intensive uses such as streaming,

"In an increasingly digital world, mobile connectivity has become an important part of everyday life, helping people stay connected and access essential services, including being able to contact emergency services like 111."

Both companies said cell sites serving the Wellington area were nearing capacity and that more 4G and 5G capacity was required.