A shopping centre wants a phone tower. Neighbours are unconvinced

That is the view of Bendigo council offers in a report to councillors ahead of a vote on the controversial plan, slated for Monday, June 24.

The business behind the plan says the tower would improve subpar mobile reception inside Strath Village and next door's Kennington Village shopping centre.

Opponents question why it cannot be built next to an existing tower 500 metres to the north, or one kilometre to the south.

They do not want to see the tower when they look out from the back of their properties and fear it could impact property values.

Council officers agree people in four or five houses off Bolton Drive will be able to see it but have told councillors that would not be an unreasonable impact.

They say it would be "as far removed as possible from the public domain" as possible, in a service loading area out the back of Strath Village.

Council officers say existing towers in the area cannot help poor phone reception at Strath Village and Kennington Village.

The one 500 metres away is both too low to the ground and too small to help the shopping centres and another one kilometre away was "of no benefit to either shopping centre", the council officers said.

They said there was a broader problem with phone reception in the area, pointing to a nearby ambulance station and Bendigo Telco building that both had their own "in building communication" facilities to help with reception.

"The in-built nature of these services provides no benefit to the wider area," the council officers said.

A number of objectors also raised concerns about the risk of electromagnetic radiation from the tower but its backers say it would comply with Australian standards.