Bilsdale mast: Ofcom finds thousands were left with no signal for 'prolonged period' due to lack of planning

Ofcom said around 670,000 homes in Teesside and North Yorkshire were cut off after the 1,000ft transmitter went up in flames on August 10 last year.

It said mast operator Arqiva “moved quickly to restore coverage” but there were delays in getting temporary transmitters up and running and many homes had no signal for “a prolonged period”, due to issues with planning and technical problems.

“Some of these arose as a result of the site’s location within a National Park and Site of Special Scientific Interest, but better site-specific planning could have pre-empted this,” Ofcom added.

The watchdog also said Arqiva provided “very general” information to affected customers and there were avoidable delays in providing “targeted support”.

Arqiva said the 500-tonne mast in the North York Moors was damaged beyond repair, after water got into equipment owned by another company and started a fire.

A temporary transmitter was put up in September 2021, before a "more resilient" temporary structure was erected in February 2022.

Ofcom said all companies which operate broadcasting infrastructure “need urgently to review their contingency plans to avoid the kind of transmission failure that occurred at Yorkshire’s Bilsdale transmitter”.

It added: “Organisations that work together to deliver broadcasting services should promptly carry out their own internal reviews to ensure lessons are learned from the fire at Bilsdale.

“These reviews should consider the adequacy of their plans for recovering services in the event of a major incident, as well as those in place to support and communicate with affected viewers and listeners.

“Ofcom will monitor the effectiveness of any new initiatives put in place before we consider whether further regulatory action is necessary.”

Paul Donovan, chief executive of Arqiva, said the company will act on Ofcom’s recommendations.

He added: “Restoring services has been the main focus for us and since the fire we built an 80m temporary mast in two months, commissioned 15 new relay transmitters, built another, more resilient 80m interim tower, and we are now in the process of constructing a brand new permanent 300m mast using an experienced North Yorkshire-based constructional steel fabrication business.

“We have also already implemented a range of measures to enhance our fire mitigation, fire protection and disaster recovery procedures and capabilities and will continue to review these areas as we work with the broadcasters to implement the recommendations from Ofcom.”