Optus tower closer to construction
THE construction of an Optus telecommunications tower in Yallourn North is closer to proceeding after Latrobe City Council endorsed a planning permit at its recent meeting.
The ‘monopole’ telecommunications tower will be located on private land zoned for farming at Saviges Road, about 800 metres from the Yallourn North township.
The company is Indra Digital Infrastructure, which selected the site because it “meets Optus coverage requirements”.
The tower’s maximum height is 34m above natural ground level. The proposal is to be set back two metres from a side property boundary and 85m from the nearest residence.
Key elements of the proposal include:
– One 30-metre steel monopole;
– Three-panel antennas mounted on a turret-style mount at the top of the monopole;
– Three active antenna units mounted above the panel antennas;
– Six remote radio units mounted on the monopole below the panel antennas;
– One Optus outdoor equipment cabinet, coloured a pale eucalypt green and located at ground level on a new concrete slab on the western side of the monopole;
– One 2.4m-high security fencing compound surrounding the lease area; and,
– Ancillary equipment associated with the safety and operation of the facility including cabling, cable trays, safety signage, etc.
Eight objections to the project were received relating to aesthetic impact, the need for another tower given that a Telstra tower is nearby, the impact on health and the environment, and inadequate notification.
Of the submissions received, the nearest to the facility is located about 340m away, but the closest property, which is 85m away, did not submit an objection.
Evan Matthews, the town planner and representative for the applicant, Indra Digital Infrastructure, attended the meeting via Zoom to address some of the objections.
He said that while the monopole cannot be completely hidden, the slim-line design and surrounding vegetation would minimise its visibility.
He then addressed concerns about electromagnetic energy emissions (EME). He said the tower would operate at EME levels below the Australian standard, at 1.2 per cent when it’s maximally operational. He also said the Telstra monopole was “too far from Yallourn North to meet Optus’ objectives”.
Councillor Sharon Gibson enquired whether a “black spot” on a hilly section of Marshalls Road would be addressed when the tower is constructed.
Mr Matthews said the tower’s coverage included “arterial roads that lead in and out of Yallourn North”, but he could not confirm.
‘Boutique’ bottle shop
PETER Aldred attended the meeting to speak about a new liquor store in Morwell’s Mid Valley Shopping Centre.
The proposed store located at the western entry to the shopping centre will sell packaged liquor from Monday to Saturday from 9am until 11pm and on Sunday between 10am and 11pm.
Mr Aldred spoke on behalf of a client who operates one other bottle shop in the municipality and wants to open a local “boutique bottle shop”.
He said it would be a standalone store, unlike the two other liquor stores in the shopping centre that are associated with supermarkets, and would sell Australian liquor, some international wines, and local wines.
Some objections to the store included that a liquor store promotes poor health by being another opportunity to buy alcohol; crime could increase; access to a carpark at night makes it a security risk; and there being too many liquor stores. The recommendation for councillors to grant a planning permit was ultimately carried.
Awareness Campaigns Policy
COUNCILLORS endorsed the Awareness Campaigns Policy, despite Cr Dale Harriman advocating for all campaigns to be approved by councillors, not just the executive team.
The Awareness Campaigns Policy (available on the council website) outlines the scope of campaigns – be that events or programs that raise awareness for the environment, social justice, and wellbeing – that the council can support and how, including resourcing, requests, and assessment of additional or replacement days. Examples include NAIDOC Week and Harmony Day.
“There are a lot of campaigns throughout the nation that we are often asked to support, some of them are around health and wellbeing, some are social, some are around environmental campaigns. Having some really clear guidelines that supports exactly what we can support and how we might be able to go about doing that is really important,” Cr Tracie Lund said.
This policy captures activities such as event management, communications and marketing campaigns, information referral, councillor and officer attendance, and lighting council infrastructure (Gippsland Performing Arts Centre, Kernot Hall, Churchill Town Symbol).
The policy includes criteria for approval, such as whether a campaign aligns with council’s strategic plans, its capacity to support community needs, its social community benefit, and the council’s capacity to resource the proposal. Anyone seeking approval needs to submit an Awareness Campaigns Request Form, which can be found on council’s website.
Some things that won’t be supported include celebratory, cultural, or religious dates of acknowledgement like Mother’s Day or Ramadan (managed instead by the Media Policy and Engagement and Customer Focus team), public holidays, and flag activities.
Cr Harriman opposed the policy as it was endorsed, saying approval for all campaigns should be brought before councillors at meetings.
“My opinion is that if it’s spending council money, it needs to come back to council,” he said.
“If we’re going to change them, if we’re going to add to them, it needs to come back to council for approval.
“I know people will say, ‘sometimes we don’t get any notice, it could be a tragedy’. We’ve had a meeting with 24 hours’ notice beforehand. The Mayor has the option to call that meeting we can be on the floor in 24 hours and have a vote take place, there is no hold up in coming back to council for that.”
The policy was adopted by council as it was presented, with the approval of campaigns, including any that might be rushed under ‘exceptional circumstances’, up to Latrobe City Chief Executive, Steven Piasente.
Development memberships added to
FIVE economic development memberships will be renewed and two more will be adopted in 2024/25.
The current budget for 2024/25 sets aside $26,000 for economic development memberships, which councillors praised for allowing the council to advocate for projects at the meeting.
Latrobe Council has paid memberships (annual) with these organisations:
– Rail Freight Alliance ($5900);
– South East Australian Transport Strategy (SEATS) ($7390);
– National Timber Council Australia ($2500);
– Timber Towns Victoria ($2500), and;
– Australia Chinese Business Council ($1831.50).
Central Ward’s Cr Graeme Middlemiss said having relationships with these trade organisations council can “amplify our advocacy”. For example, Cr Middlemiss highlighted the Rail Freight Alliance advocates to retain the state government subsidy to have freight loaded onto trains in regional areas to take pressure off road systems and keep prices low, despite the treasury recommending that it is removed every year.
At the meeting, the Business and Industry Development team recommended adding the Regional Activators Alliance (RAA) and South East Melbourne Manufacturers Alliance (SEMMA) to council’s memberships.
Cr Harriman said the SEMMA has a “huge reputation of bringing so many jobs to the south-east of Melbourne… they’ve brought a huge amount of defence work to the southeast of Melbourne…and hopefully, that’s something we can do with SEMMA, is look at promoting Latrobe City and building consortiums and alliances”.
On top of the existing memberships, the new ones would cost $5000 for the RAA and $1250 for SEMMA, bringing the total to $26371.50 for 2024/25.
Funding for BMX tracks
COUNCIL officers proposed applying for $600,000 from the Regional Tourism Investment Fund (RTIF) to upgrade three existing BMX tracks.
The (RTIF) funds tourism infrastructure projects that improve visitor experience and increase visitor spending in regional and rural Victoria. It funds ‘small-scale projects’ between $100,000 and $1 million, ‘large-scale projects’ between $1 million and $5 million, and accommodation uplift between $500,000 and $2 million.
The BMX track upgrades would come under Stream 1, between $100,000 and $1 million.
Officers propose an application be made under Stream 1 to upgrade the existing dirt BMX tracks in Glengarry and Boolarra, given their proximity to the popular Gippsland Plains and Grand Ridge rail trails, and the existing dirt BMX track in Tyers as identified in the adopted 24/25 budget, converting all three to sealed Pump Tracks.
East Ward councillor, Dan Clancey supported the recommendation and emphasised that council will have to contribute and that it would impact the council 2024/25 Budget but that it was money well spent.
Cost estimates are pending, but they are about $900,000 ($300,000 per pump track). The costs would be split between the RTIF funding and the council.
Council would contribute one third ($300,000) for the Tyers project, as identified in the adopted 24/25 budget. The remaining $600,000 would come from RTIF if approved.
Three major events
AT its meeting held on June 5, the Tourism and Major Events Advisory Committee (TAMEAC) recommended funding support for the 2024 and 2025 Football Victoria Boys and Girls Championships, 2025 Tennis Australia Pro Tour and 2025-2027 V/Line Cup.
All three events can be funded from the Major Event Attraction budget, and, as a result, there are no budget implications. Two of the three events – the 2025 Tennis Australia Pro Tour and the 2025-2027 V/Line Cup – are not guaranteed events but are presented for pre-approval in anticipation. The funds will be returned to the budget if they do not proceed.
The projected economic impact for the three events combined is $1.7 million.
Funding the events was carried unanimously.
