PLANNING bosses at Warrington have thrown out proposals for a 15m high mobile phone mast designed to resemble a timber telegraph pole.
Members of the borough council’s development management committee decided they did not like the design, nor the siting, of the mast on land off Longwood Road, Appleton.
Although applicants Vodafone and O2 were planning to share use of the mast, the committee decided there had not been an adequate search for alternative mast-sharing opportunities in the area.
More than 50 residents had lodged objections to the application.
They claimed the mast would be more than twice the height of nearby lamp posts and would dominate the view from the nearest house, which was less than 10m away.
The applicants claimed the mast was needed to provide capacity for future telecommunications and to enable the planned roll-out of new technologies.
Residents said the mast would be an alien and unsympathetic addition to the existing clutter in the area, would be higher than the nearest property, and that the potential for mast-sharing had not been fully explored.
They argued that there are other, more suitable alternatives available – in particular an existing mast on Witherwin Avenue.
Objectors also claimed there had been inadequate consultation.
It was the second time in 24 hours that planners at Warrington had rejected a mobile phone mast application submitted by Vodafone and o2.
The previous day, the planning sub-committee had rejected a similar scheme for a 12.5m high mast in Admirals Road, Birchwood.
