Community
24 July, 2025
Petition launched to oppose tower
NOORAT residents have lodged a petition urging Corangamite Shire Council to oppose a looming telecommunications development which they believe will be an eyesore in the heart of the village.
Noorat’s Helen Durant, a former Corangamite Shire councillor, presented the petition at this week’s Ordinary Meeting of Council in opposition of a 30-metre telecommunications tower to be located on Glenormiston Road.
Funding for the heightened communications infrastructure through the addition of a new macro cell mobile site was awarded in May 2022, with $708,300 in Federal funds awarded under round two of the Regional Connectivity Program.
However, the process was undertaken with the belief the tower would be located with existing NBN infrastructure atop Mount Noorat.
Residents were frustrated to learn Telstra was instead planning to host the tower in the heart of the village beside the Presbyterian church, which Western District Newspapers reported in May this year.
Mrs Durant, speaking before council, said 90 residents of Noorat and surrounds had signed the petition between April and June.
“The petition objects to the proposed location of a 30-metre telecommunications tower at 12 Glenormiston Road, Noorat, and requests that the tower be co-located on top of Mount Noorat with other telecommunications infrastructure that is already there,” she said.
“When a senior Telstra employee visited Noorat in April this year to speak to residents about this project, many members of the community expressed their concerns regarding the telephone reception in Noorat – which is significantly worse in Glenormiston and other areas surrounding Mount Noorat.
“The Telstra representative told us that the ideal location for a tower was on top of Mount Noorat as this would provide the optimum level of service to a maximum number of residents.
“However, Telstra has chosen a small site that they own in the residential section of Noorat, and right next to the Presbyterian Church and hall – an area that has a heritage overlay.
“The Telstra representative admitted that this site would provide a less efficient service than the one on Mount Noorat, and that people living in Glenormiston and other areas where the signal would be blocked would see little improvement.”
Mrs Durant said phone reception in Noorat and surrounds desperately needed improvement, but also needed to be done so in a way which minimises impact and maximises improvement.
“Right now, many people have to stand outside to receive a signal and constantly have their mobile service disrupted,” she said.
“This is a significant issue for community safety and health and wellbeing – apart from the day-to-day inconvenience of not having adequate reception for both farmers and households.
“We were told that the chose site was determined by cost factors, but the Telstra representative could not provide us with any comparable figures to justify this claim.
“There will be limited community benefit from locating the tower at 12 Glenormiston Road and considerable community benefit if this is put on top of Mount Noorat.
“Noorat residents take great pride in their picturesque little town, and a 30-metre tower next to housing and the historic church precinct will adversely affect our visual amenity and not be in keeping with the surrounding area.”
The petition requests council refuse Telstra’s application to construct the telecommunications tower at 12 Glenormiston Road and that Telstra be requested to pursue the option of a location on Mount Noorat.
Corangamite chief executive officer David Rae, in response, said council would receive the petition for consideration and prepare a report for next month’s Ordinary Meeting of Council.
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