Building Permits ETC for Tower Erection.

[VK3UCL]

G'day there,

I would like to hear from others what painful / enjoyable experiences they have had with permits etc for erecting a tower in a suburban situation.

I am located in Bacchus Marsh VIC and would really appreciate any correspondence form those who have gone through this process. So far i have been given the run around by my local Govt, mainly with allot of useless web searching of their guidelines, codes of practice etc that really have proved to be " Non Specific " shall we say.

Thanks in advance, VK3UCL Ric.

[VK3BPN]

G'day Ric

I know what you are going through, it's quite a quandry! I recently erected a One Man Tower without any council approvals under Building Regulations 2006 which states approval is NOT required for an aerial MAST less than 8m high. So I dug the hole to the required size, fitted the support foundation, filled it with the required amount of concrete then errected the MAST. Obviously you are limited to the 8m but it's better than the hasstles of council approval. Below is the extract from the building regulations.

[b]Division 4—Class 10b Buildings
431. Masts, poles etc.
The report and consent of the relevant council must be obtained to an application for a building permit to construct a mast, pole, aerial, antenna, chimney, flue, pipe or other service pipe which—
(a) when attached to a building, exceeds a height of 3m above the highest point of the roof of the building; or
(b) when not attached to a building, exceeds 8m above ground level.[/b]

Cheers Peter
VK3BPN

[VK5GF]

Hi Ric,

Here's information on my experience at my new location of Encounter Bay SA with the Victor Harbor Town Council.

I put in a building development application for a freestanding tower 12metres high, and a 10metre vertical mounted on the roof of my shed,
after they published the details of my development in the local newspaper they had 4 replies from nearby residents objecting to it.
After much discussion with the very friendly and helpfull town planner allocated the job of dealing with my application, he stated that because of the impact on the local residents, he would not be able to recommend my application to the Council Development Assessment Panel, he suggested that I cut my losses
(financial) and design the tower with the total height just under 10 metres, my 10 metre vertical is now reduced to 4 metres mounted on the roof, so I'm mounting it on the ground.
In doing this no development approval is neccessary by the Council, and no action can be taken by the objectors through Council.

There is legislation covering aerials, towers etc in South Aust,

Development Regulations 2008-31/08/2008. (Schedule 3- Acts and activities which are not development).

Development Act 1993 under Schedule 3 Part 12
.... a prescribed infrastructure not attached to a building..
In Metropolitan Adelaide- 7.5 metres or, in the case of a prescribed infrastructure to be used solely by a person who holds an amateur licence under the Radiocommunications Act of the Commonwealth, 10 metres.
..... a prescribed infrastructure attached to a building...
In a residential zone in metropolitan Adelaide- 2 metres, in any other case- 4 metres above the topmost point of attachment to the building, disregarding any attachment by guy wires.
In a residential zone the maximum size of a satellite dish is 1.2 metres.

A prescribed infrastructure means a non load-bearing aerial, antenna, mast or open framed tower, or similar structure (but not including an advertising hoarding).

There you go, I have my tower up 10 metres now and I'm back ON AIR,

Cheers,

Jeff VK8GF/VK5GF

[vk3six]

Rural not a problem

[VK5ZK]

The question really is "what can you get a permit for TODAY", not what happened 20 years ago. I had no problem with a 60 ft Metters free light Tower, with 20 ft of pipe out the top, in suburban Adelaide in 1966.

I didn't even attempt a permit for my Nally this year because I know what the answer would be. So far so good. It also helps to be on good terms with neighbours but that's not always possible. It's not at full height yet either. The big plus of a Nally type tower is it can "grow " slowly over time.

In SA there is a provision for a 10mtr mast without permit as VK5GF indicated earlier. Any more than that and you have a battle on your hands (which you probably can't win). The State Govt are currently reviewing the rules in this area so hopefully it will still be there after the update.

[VK4QB]

Hi all,
What happens in the case of a 5 or so section extendable (or crank up) tower. What is that called, a mast uder 10 metres or what ? If you dont extend it during daylight hours then it is the basic 6 (or so) metre mast. What happens during dark times is unknown ?
Brian 4QB

[VK4ABW]

ok. staying on topic. You can get a permit provided you jump through all the hoops. 60ft in a surburban backyard is possible, provided your IMMEDIATE neighbours have no issue. Even if they do object, you still have the right to push it through the council and await their decision.

Only the adjoining properties to yours need to be notified of your proposed tower.

Also, you need to do a fair amount of leg work prior to getting the usual run-around by the council (they never change).
Check with your local authority what height is allowed without a BP. Anything above that will require Planning approval and a fee.
Heights vary for different areas but i think you will find that most councils will allow up to 10mtrs these days.

Wandering off topic now.... it never ceases to amaze me some of the crap (and i mean crap) tower installations amateurs put up. I've seen 60ft towers held down with clothes-line wire to a star picket! I would hate to be the property owner in that situation. Should it fail and cause harm or kill someone, your life will change forever. Plus as an added bonus... no insurance company will touch you again and you run the risk of spending time behind bars.

Permits are required for damn good reasons.

Be smart. Do the right thing.

All my 120ft and 50ft towers are over engineered 8 times, approved and fully insured. Because of this....i sleep very soundly.

regards
Gary VK4ABW

[vk3six]

The regulations now prohibit (in this state at least) climbing above 2M without protection,
so any tower or even a concrete power pole with an aerial on it like we hae at the studio,
has to have a fall arrestor fitted and you require a riggers ticket to climb it.
So non crank up towers of any persuasion are a hassle.


My solution as I said years ago was buy a block and build a buffer zone of 500 meters around it.

Locked gates.

No risk factor to speak of

Cheaper than litigation.


http://people.aapt.net.au/~sg4/vk3rmv.htm

[VK3OE]

As A tower is such an essentail part of amateur radio I thought that a few extra comments would be in order.

In Victoria a building permit is all that is required if the TOWER is up to 13.7m (45ft) high. The height of the tower does not include the antennas as they are not part of the approval process, so extra height can be added to accomodate your antennas but be sure that you do not exceed the wind loading design limit of the tower.

As to requiring a riggers licence, that is the case for all commercial towers but does not apply to an amateur radio towers as the amateur is entirely responsible for the tower, this responsibility extends to any accident involving the amateur radio tower (this is a grey area).

So a few ideas on safety to limit your liability...
1/ Always use good quality safety equipment which includes a harness, gloves, boots, helmet and permanent attachment to the tower. There are many suppliers of this type of safety equipment.
2/ Never allow anyone else to be near the tower when you are working on the tower.
3/ Use an anti climb device to stop any unauthorised access.
4/ Never climb your tower in bad weather, at night or when it is wet.
5/ Consider what may happen if you have an accident on the tower and need to recovered from the tower, a worst case scanerio.
6/ Make sure that all objects that you are working with are attached, includes antennas, spanners etc.
7/ Lightning protection is essential.
8/ Do not let anyone on the tower if they are not properly equipped with safety gear.
9/ This is not a complete list!!! Think for yourself, and plan what you are doing.

If you wish to build a tower that is higher than 13.7m a planning permit is also required. This involves the council seeking out objections to your proposed development from your neighbours so before they receive anything from the council contact all your neighbours and let them know what you plan and how good amateur radio is and what a nice person your are, plenty of PR and good relationships will help a lot here. WIA can also help here.

If there are objections to your development ( the council can also object) your application will be forwarded to VCAT for a hearing, the outcome of which may be obtaining the planning permit, reducing the scale of the development or refusal.
If yor are refused a planning permit you can revert to the 13.7m tower.

Never put up a tower without a building permit, no ones interest is served by doing that!!!

Good luck.

[VK2OMD]

As to requiring a riggers licence, that is the case for all commercial towers but does not apply to an amateur radio towers as the amateur is entirely responsible for the tower, this responsibility extends to any accident involving the amateur radio tower (this is a grey area).

Workcover nationally requires competency for certain work in an occupational environment (ie employment, contracting). 'National' certificates of competency were issued under various state OH&S legislation (which I think applies only to occupational work... but I am not a lawyer), and relevant to antenna work, there are three associated with rigging and dogging, three associated with scaffolding, and one for elevated work platforms. Workcover were at pains to emphasise these are not licences (eg like the licenced traded plumbing, electrical), but everyone called them licences.

I note in their last grab for an ongoing revenue stream NSW Workcover has declared some months ago that all issued certificates will expire and must be renewed for a fee for a shortish time. They originally told workers that these were issued for life and would not require periodic renewal with fees... but clearly they lied, like they did over the 'green card'.

So, these 'national' certificates now expire in NSW, and you don't need a certificate for some types of work in Qld where they are required in other states.

I don't know that Workcover could require individuals to hold such certificates for work on their own premises, so long as they are not doing it occupationally.

Nevertheless, getting a Basic Rigger's ticket is not that hard, and that qualifies one to erect steel such as a free standing tower. What's that, the mast is guyed! Bugger, a permanently guyed structure requires the highest qualification, the Advanced Rigger's ticket. Not many riggers are Advanced Riggers, you would be qualified to erect a tower crane, do demolition work, supervise multi crane lifts, hang suspended stages... yes, and erect a permanently guyed structure.

If you were working to rule, you would essentially be unable to work on the antenna system alone.

There is a lot of value in tilt over towers, so long as you don't overload them (as is almost always done). But, working on a tall set of steps to reach a HF Yagi is risky, and against Workcover rules now, if you can fall 1.8m, you need fall restraint (at work).

Owen

[VK3UCL]

Thank you one and all for comments / experiences, i really appreciate them all.

The single most difficult thing i have encountered with my local govt is that
not one single person there has pointed me in the right direction !!

Wish me luck, regards Ric.

[VK3OP]

Ric,

Because you are in vk3 you are covered by the decision in the following document:

Maciszewski v Casey CC [2003] VCAT 402 (10 April 2003) .doc

VCAT tower decision

(130.5 KiB) Downloaded 1208 times

In particular read the conclusion and summing up at the end of the file.

The upshot is that a tower structure of up to 14 meters does not require planning approval, only building
approval which is purely to ensure structural integrity of the installation.

Hope this helps

de Frank VK3OP