A planned Telus cell phone and internet tower for Lund appears to not be going ahead.
At the Thursday, November 28, qathet Regional District board (qRD) meeting, directors considered three resolutions regarding the Telus tower, which had been planned for a residential neighbourhood in Lund. A group called Concerned Citizens of Lund had appeared before the regional district’s planning committee on Tuesday, November 12, opposing the siting of the tower on Larson Bay Road in Lund.
“Telus was then to look at additional sites but decided to withdraw entirely,” said Electoral Area A director and board chair Patrick Brabazon at the meeting. “At the moment, there is no proposal for a Telus pole to improve cell phone coverage and internet service in Lund.”
Brabazon said subsequent to that, he began to hear from people in Lund who are very unhappy that Telus has pulled out and with the way the matter has been handled.
“In my research, I discovered there were at least three other sites on offer to Telus, one of which is in an industrial area,” said Brabazon. “Probably, most of the objections that were lodged by some people would not be present in the new area.
“I have established that I can get a hold of Telus directly. I don’t have to go through their land service contractor, and if this board passes the resolution, then I am going to try and get Telus to go back up there and do a proper job, surveying all of the available sites. I know of three and I’ll bet there’s probably more out there that would do. I want good internet and cell phone coverage in as wide an area as we can possibly get.”
Brabazon said those who are familiar with travelling to Lund can watch their phones drift in and out of reception.
“I would like the board to approve this resolution and then we’ll see what we can do with Telus,” he added.
The board carried the following motion from Brabazon: Whereas the qRD has at this time no siting policy and whereas the internet/cell phone situation in the Lund area is unacceptable, the board expects Telus to return to Lund and complete a fair and comprehensive survey of all available sites.
The board also carried a motion that it writes a letter to Cypress Land Services, Telus’s land service contractor, indicating the board is pleased they have withdrawn from the current site at 9561 Larson Bay Road in Lund.
The third motion was that the board direct staff to explore a telecommunications siting policy.
