Mobile phone tower at Bushfield given the all-clear by VCAT

The "long drawn out saga" over the Telstra tower has come to an end after Warrnambool City Council's vote to knock back the plan was overruled by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

Spokesperson for objectors Doug Gall said opponents were "bitterly, bitterly disappointed".

"There's nothing we can do about it. If there was, we would but we can't," Mr Gall said.

"There's no where else to go. VCAT's done what they've done.

"They've made a terrible decision."

Mr Gall said he couldn't understand why VCAT decided what they did.

"Someone had to win and someone had to lose," he said.

In August last year, Warrnambool city councillors went against officers' recommendations and voted 6-0 to reject the planned tower after a groundswell of community backlash.

But Telstra appealed.

After two-day hearing in April, VCAT has now set aside the council's decision with a permit set to be issued for the site on McKenzies Road.

The permit comes with a number of conditions about vegetation and that the external surfaces of the tower must be coloured in a matt, non-reflective colour to blend in with the environment.

Telstra first mooted its plans to build a $250,000, 35-metre 4G and 5G tower on the area in 2020.

More than 250 signatures were collected on two petitions in opposition to the plan which would sandwich some residents between two towers 500 metres apart.

They called for the tower to be moved further away. Telstra did move the location 260 metres away.

With the nearest Telstra tower more than 4km away in north Warrnambool, Telstra chose the Bushfield site in a bid to boost coverage and reduce congestion.

The option of locating it on the tower at the Bushfield Recreation Reserve was ruled out, and other sites to the east, near Staywood Road, and farmland to the south-west of Bushfield "didn't stack up."

Telstra's regional general manager Steve Tinker said Telstra was pleased with the VCAT decision to approve the Bushfield application.

"We understand the importance of providing access to world-class technologies and connectivity and this new site will help deliver that to local residents," Mr Tinker said.

"As the decision has just been made, we will now start working towards the next steps which includes the build time-frame. At this point we do not have a clear view of when that will be."

Construction of the tower must start within two years and be completed within four under permit conditions.

Meanwhile, construction was expected to start in the next couple of months on a new mobile base station on Wollaston Road and be operational by the end of the year.

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