Plans for 5G mast in Hereford rejected

A plan to put up a telecoms mast the height of a six-storey building near a busy Hereford junction has been rejected.

CK Hutchison Networks, which operates the Three mobile network in the UK, wanted to install the 20-metre-high 5G pole along with three equipment cabinets beside Roman Road, the A4103, near the roundabout with the A49 Holmer Road.

It sought “prior approval” from Herefordshire Council under what are called permitted development rights, which allow certain kinds of building work without the need for full planning permission.

“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 company’s application said.

But planning officer Simon Rowles concluded that the visual impact of such a tall mast “would be unacceptably prominent in the context of the well-travelled routes into and out of the city”, a consideration “not outweighed by the social and economic benefits of enhanced 5G network coverage”.

“Despite officers’ attempts to secure a reduction in height, no such change was forthcoming,” he added.

The company had also given “insufficient clarity” on why other sites considered for the pole had been rejected, he said, but agreed that “there would be no significant impact on public health” from the mast.

No view on the plan was submitted by either the city council or the public.

Last month the same company lost an appeal to have a similar mast permitted by the city walls on Bath Street.

The company was approached for comment.