Bathurst Regional Council has recently joined the Australian Smart Communities Association (ASCA) as part of its commitment to embracing new technologies to provide technology-based services to the public and to manage the city’s assets.

The state and federal governments have also offered rich incentives to encourage the emergence of Smart Cities and a report to councillors by environmental, planning and building services director Neil Southorn has outlined some of the local projects.

“Bathurst is well positioned to become a national leader in Smart City development and with the combined efforts of council and the community, a number of significant milestones have already been achieved,” the report states.

“[These include] $152,500 grant from the Federal Government to roll out a CBD free wi-fi network; $100,000 digital media prize in the Ooh! Media Smart Cities competition; founding contributor to the development of the Upstairs Start-Up Hub to launch new small businesses; lobbying for successful NBN rollout; installation of a Tesla Supercharger; Australia’s first experiential technology hub, Gunthers Lane.”

Mr Southorn said other Smart City projects currently being investigated in Bathurst included smart controls for CBD lighting and CCTV network scoping.

“Council is currently scoping the development of a Smart City Plan which will guide Bathurst to become a more productive, accessible, liveable city that attracts talent, encourages innovation, creates jobs and integrates emerging technologies into everyday life,” he said.

“Council has established an internal Smart Cities Project Group to guide the development of Bathurst into a Smart City.  

“… Due to the efforts of council and the community, Bathurst is well on the way to becoming a national leader in Smart City development.”