Planning inspector overturns Bradford Council refusal of 17.5m 5G mast
A planning inspector has overturned a Bradford Council decision to block a 17.5 metre high phone mast on a busy Bradford street.
Last year the Council refused an application by telecoms giant Cornerstone to erect a 5G mast at on the street at 89 Harrogate Road.
The company had argued that the mast was needed to provide full 5G coverage for that area.
But planning officers said the installation: “would result in a substantial degree of harm to the visual amenity of the wider streetscene, with particular regard to the excessive height of the monopole at 17.5m tall. The monopole would not be screened by any surrounding structures and by virtue of scale and siting, would appear distinctly over dominating within its surroundings.”
Cornerstone appealed this decision, and now Government appointed planning inspector M Cryan has overturned the Council’s refusal.
He acknowledged that while the mast would harm the appearance of the area, there was a need to boost local 5G coverage and he was “satisfied that there is not a more suitable site for the required facility.”
He added: “While I have found that the siting and appearance of the proposed mast would cause some limited harm to the character and appearance of the area, I consider that this would be outweighed by the need for the installation to be sited as proposed, taking into account alternative locations investigated.”