Plans for a 65ft-tall 5G mobile phone mast in Wortley have been refused by council planners for being ‘overly dominant’.
The proposals, by CK Hutchison Networks on behalf of Three, would have seen the mast and communication equipment be sited near the junction of Oldfield Lane and Highfield Lane.
A council planning officer’s report refusing the application stated: “It is considered that the proposed siting of the development would be detrimental to the character and appearance of the immediate location by virtue of the equipment’s size, design and overly dominant appearance on a small and intimate area of grass verge that has public value in terms of its visual appearance.”
The application received two letters of objection from local residents.
A developer’s planning statement accompanying the application had argued: “In this location, existing mast sites are not capable of supporting additional equipment compliment to extend coverage reach across the target area and prospective ‘in-fill’ mast sites are extremely limited.
“There is an acute need for a new base station to provide effective service coverage and in this case, the height of the proposed street pole is the minimum required to bring the benefits of 5G to this area.”
The plans can be viewed in full here.
