Proposed Cell Tower at Hendrik Verwoerd High School/Rietondale Secondary School, Pretoria

Note: Objections must be in before the 5th of September 2019.

Intention of erecting a cell 36 m lattice mast tower and 8m by 8m base station on the premises named below:

Erf  109 Deerness Township, located at 720 Stuart Street (Zoned “Educational”)

Municipal reference:

CPD/0148/109 (Item 30433)

Applicant Site ref:

SC104015GP (Hendrik Verwoerd High School)

(Which has undergone a name change to Rietondale Secondary School)

The red block on the images below indicates the intended location of the mast.

Objections can be e mailed to:  

CityP_Registration@TSHWANE.GOV.ZA

USE MUNICIPAL REFERENCE CPD/0148/109/ (Item 30433)

Objections can be lodged in writing to: 

The Strategic Executive Director

City Planning

Development and Regional Services: LG C04

Isivumo House

143 Lilian Ngovi  Street

Pretoria Municipal Offices

PO Box 3242

Pretoria

0001

USE MUNICIPAL REFERENCE CPD/0148/109/ (Item 30433)

Notice put on school fence:

A person claiming to be an interested person in land development application has the burden of establishing his or her status as an interested person.

An interested person must provide contact details in order to be heard.

Information must be provided regarding the grounds of an objection and how rights and interests are affected.

If an interested party has not demonstrated an interest in all of the issues presented in a particular land development application or an appeal, the Municipal Planning Tribunal or ?appeal (we cannot decipher the word from the notice above) authority may limit the interested person’s participation to issues in which an interest has been established.

It was reported to EMFSA that notices were put up on all 4 school boundary fences late afternoon (a day before the long weekend of woman’s day public holiday). The school had already closed for that long weekend.

It was also reported to EMFSA that the school could not inform parents and scholars until after the 5th September. Our informant was told that he could stand outside the school grounds and hand out pamphlets but that the school could “do nothing until after the 5th of September“. The land belongs to the Gauteng Provisional Government. We do not understand why this action was necessary as this would be defeating the object of submitting objections before the 5th of September.

Below is an image of a lattice tower with antenna added. Note – this is simply an example not an image of the proposed tower.

EMFSA recommends that  calculations be provided by the applicant to establish the potential radiation levels in the classrooms with particular attention to windows and roofs of those buildings marked with an A and roof (classroom ceiling) to those marked with a B. These calculations must then be compared to Building Biology Standards.

Radiation projections should be provided to the owners of adjacent properties (within a 300 m radius) as to what the expected levels will be especially in bedrooms – or anywhere where residents spend more than 4 hours per day. Special attention should be given to upper floors.

The applicant should also provide the public (including the parents attending the school) and the owners of surrounding properties with the following information:

  • The total radiation output of the tower when it is fully operational and in the future.
  • The type of technologies, frequencies and modulation types that will be deployed on the tower and in the future.
  • Will the public (including the parents of the children attending the school) be informed if the tower is upgraded or not?

An added concern is that if the school is using Wi-Fi that the radiation from the tower will add to this load. All children have the right to an internet connection but there are safer choices:

Tablets can be hardwired.

Wi-Fi can be switched on only when needed.

It has come to our attention that some private schools do not allow cell towers on their property. We do not understand why government schools do not follow the Precautionary Principle as well.

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