Lismore City Council will ask Police Minister Tony Kelly to remove the 36-metre communications tower that was erected at the Nimbin Police Station two weeks ago and find a better spot.

Major Jenny Dowell raised the matter through a Mayoral Minute at Tuesday’s Council meeting, which stated Council will express its “extreme dissatisfaction” with the failure of NSW Police to follow proper process.

Although police were exempt from lodging a development application for the tower, they were obliged to notify Council and adjoining land owners of what was being constructed, giving them 21 days in which to respond.

Mayor Dowell said the police had notified Council via email on February 11 of their intention to erect a communications tower, but did not provide any plans. The police advised Council the plans would be forthcoming but the next they heard about the tower was when they were contacted by the media after it had been erected on July 28.

Mayor Dowell said if the police had followed proper process, Council would have expressed the opinion that the location was inappropriate because it is within the Nimbin Heritage Conservation Area and impacted on the visual amenity of the village and the views of Nimbin Rocks.

“Council has been shocked by this. I was appalled when I drove out there and saw it on Saturday. It has impacted on police relations with the community and on the view of Nimbin Rocks,” Mayor Dowell said.

Nimbin Chamber of Commerce secretary Eugenie Stephans addressed Council and presented a petition asking for the tower to be moved. She said the 700 signatures had been collected in one day.

“We are not opposed to the tower itself, but we believe it has been put in an inappropriate location,” she said. “It has caused a great deal of distress in the Nimbin village and interferes with the quiet enjoyment of land by private landholders... and it disregards community affinity with the cultural heritage of the village and the character of the streetscape.”

She also expressed a concern that because the tower is located opposite the Nimbin Hospital, it may interfere with sensitive medical equipment.

“It is obscuring the view to the prime tourist attraction and an important Bundjalung site, the Nimbin Rocks,” she said. “We are happy to work with the police and the Council to find a new site, but it should be taken away from the heart of the village.”

Superintendent Bruce Lyons from the Richmond Local Area Command has met with the Mayor and said he is happy to look for a solution to the problem.

“I acknowledge that the erection of the tower has been completed without apparent proper process. I have held discussions with the Mayor and the communications branch in Sydney and give an undertaking to the Nimbin community to work with the Mayor to resolve the issue. It may be the case that the tower has to be located in another area,” he said. “I understand the views of the Mayor who, I believe, echoes the concerns of the wider community at Nimbin.”

He said there was an “inherent need” for the tower to address black spots in police communications, and that the tower would ultimately make it safer for both the police and the community.

Cr Simon Clough added an amendment to the Mayoral Minute to offer assistance to the police to find a new location, including the possible use of Council land. He suggested either the sewage treatment plant or the dam could be suitable sites.