Local councils have revealed their submissions for the upcoming round of the federal government’s Mobile Black Spot Program.
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Nominations for the $60 million round of funding closed on January 15, with second round evaluation to take place in June before funded locations are announced by the end of the year.
More than 100 locations in the Ballarat electorate have been nominated by residents.
However, local councils have also had an input, with Golden Plains Shire Council nominating Rokewood, Meredith, Grenville, Scarsdale, Gheringhap/Batesford, Cape Clear and Shelford as areas that need addressing.
“These areas were nominated based on feedback from the community, and we also encouraged residents to fill out a mobile black spot nomination form so their area could be considered,” Golden Plains Shire Mayor Des Phelan said.
“The areas we have nominated are suffering from poor or non-existent mobile phone coverage. They are either remote, prone to bush fire, on key transport routes or are areas where we are anticipating industry growth and job creation.
“Golden Plains Shire was delighted that Dereel and Steiglitz were announced to receive new mobile phone towers under the last round of the program, and we hope to be considered under the next round.”
Moorabool Shire Council, which was one of Australia’s first shires to receive a working base station when the Blackwood tower became operational in late December, has nominated Greendale and Dales Creek as black spot areas.
Mayor Allan Comrie said both towns are located in bushfire risk areas, exacerbating the need for improved mobile coverage.
“The 2009 Victoria Bushfires Royal Commission Final Report declared the Blackwood/Dales Creek area among the 52 high risk fire areas in Victoria,” Cr Comrie said.
“The Grampians Regional Strategic Fire Management Planning Committee ranks Greendale/Dales Creek as the second highest high-fire-risk areas in the entire Grampians Region.”
City of Ballarat general manager of city services Terry Demeo did not say which areas council had nominated for the second round, while Pyrenees and Hepburn shires were also contacted for comment.