Telstra area general manager for Ballarat Steve Tinker confirmed that an engineering assessment of the site, as part of the co-location process with the National Broadband Network, revealed an existing NBN tower would be unsuitable for Telstra’s infrastructure.

The base station was originally set for a 2018 construction date under the first round of the Federal government’s mobile black spot program, but was brought forward two years when Telstra sought to co-locate its technology at the site the tower.

In September it was anticipated the base station would be running by mid-December, crucially, in time to improve service for the fire season.

Mr Tinker said Telstra would now look at alternative local sites to house its infrastructure.

While he could not give a definitive timeframe for when works on the station would start, he said a 2017 completion date was the goal – one year before its original 

“We won't be able to get the tower up this year (in 2016),” he said.

“We've been working very collaboratively with the NBN but what we’ve found at the last moment is that it's a structural issue at the NBN site.

“We can't put our equipment (on the site).

A separate statement from Telstra said the engineering assessment of the NBN tower revealed that its mobile infrastructure would “overload” the tower.

“We just want to try and get it done as quickly as possible,” Mr Tinker said.

“A similar location is where we'll go –  we’ve still got to hunt down where we will build.”​

Federal Member for Corangamite Sarah Henderson blasted Telstra for its handling of the project and said the the delay was a “betrayal of the people of Dereel”.

“This decision is a real kick in the guts for the people of Dereel,” Ms Henderson said.

“It's a small community that has been deeply scarred by two bushfires, including a major one in February, 2013.

“I cannot believe that Telstra has only now announced, two weeks before Christmas, that the tower was incompatible.

Ms Henderson said she had urged Federal Minister for Regional Communications and Regional Development Fiona Nash to intervene and said it was mandatory that Telstra provides an assurance to the community that the tower will be delivered by a specific time.

“I have raised this as an urgent representation with the Minister,” she said.