Most of the approximately 50-member gallery stormed out of the Light Regional Council's (LRC) Development Assessment Panel (DAP) meeting at Hewett Community Centre on Wednesday afternoon when the motion approving the proposal was put forward.

The matter will now be assessed by the South Australian Development Assessment Commission (DAC), which must concur with the panel's decision before development plan consent is officially granted.

Earlier in the day, the DAP inspected the Smythe Road property where the proposed tower is to be built, where it had a crane lifted to the 28-metre height to allow members to see for themselves the possible impact it could have on the view.

The panel heard submissions at the meeting from more than 10 people opposed to the development, then spent more than an hour questioning the applicant on a range of issues including co-location, other explored options and the need for the tower, before coming to its decision.

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For further developments on this story, see next week's edition of the Herald.