Retired folk win tower battle - for now

Grampa Simpson. Photo / Supplied

Grampa Simpson, Victor Meldrew and Coronation Street's Blanche Hunt - all proof there's nothing wrong with growing old disgracefully.

And members of an Auckland retirement community have followed in the footsteps of their fictional counterparts by taking on a telecommunications company and winning - at least for now.

Residents from Selwyn Village in Pt Chevalier used their cars to form a barricade against a crane trying to install a cellphone tower on their grounds.

One resident said village management had given New Zealand Communications approval for the tower without consulting residents.

NZ Communications executive and Martin Gledhill of the National Radiation Laboratory met residents and village management on January 8.

NZ Communications said the company was waiting on the outcome of consultation between the Selwyn Foundation, which runs the village, and residents.