On Friday, June 29, Don Stedman retired to his back deck to find a blight on his previously uninterrupted view of Pigeon House Mountain and The Castle.

“When you get home on a Friday afternoon and glance to see the sun set down over Pigeon House there is something new there, a great big mobile phone tower,” Mr Stedman said.

“It’s very sad, it’s ruined the view. It’s nature at its best and now it’s technology at its worst.”

Mr Stedman’s nearby neighbours Darryl Snow and Gayle Nolan shared the same reaction to the sight of the 40-metre tall tower climbing from the canopy.

Mr Snow could observe it from his kitchen window while Mrs Nolan said it was strange to install the tower in the focus of Pigeon House Mountain.

Mr Stedman has lived at Dolphin Point since 1987. The expansion behind his property was progress and easier to cope with because he and his neighbours “knew it was going to happen”.

However, Optus did not consider the effects of building the new Burrill Lake tower on Dolphin Point residents, he said.

“For the sake of a kilometre further south it wouldn’t have bothered me. It wouldn’t impact on anybody in Dolphin Point,” Mr Stedman said. 

An Optus spokesperson said the new tower would improve mobile communications services and choice for residents in the area.

Last August, Optus submitted a summary of the consultation plan and activities undertaken to the Forestry Corporation of NSW, Shoalhaven City Council and councillors, Gilmore MP Ann Sudmalis and South Coast MP Shelley Hancock.

“The tower did not require a development application nor did it require approval from [council], however Optus notified residents within 500 metres of the tower,” the spokesperson said.

No submissions were made during the consultation process, Optus reports stated.