Controversial plans for 5G mast in Chesterfield set to be turned down

Plans to site a 20m-high 5G mast in a residential area of Chesterfield are set to be thrown out by councillors next week.
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Telecommunications giant Three had applied for permission to install the mast, described as a slim line street pole, wrap around cabin and three cabinets, on a verge off Spital Lane.

Hundreds of residents have objected to the proposal, and planning officers have advised Chesterfield Borough Council’s planning committee to throw it out when councillors meet on Monday, October 25.

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Plans to site a 20m-high 5G mast in this residential area of Chesterfield are set to be thrown out by councillors next week.Plans to site a 20m-high 5G mast in this residential area of Chesterfield are set to be thrown out by councillors next week.
Plans to site a 20m-high 5G mast in this residential area of Chesterfield are set to be thrown out by councillors next week.

Megan Eley, 69, of Hasland Road, said: "We should be planting more trees not chopping them down for the sake of a communications mast.

"It would be detrimental to the wildlife living there and we have to make a stand against this.”

Council officers say the proposed siting of the mast would have a negative impact on views of a listed building.

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A report to be considered at the meeting says: “The siting and appearance of the proposed installation would have a significant and adverse effect on visual amenity in the local area.

“The proposal is considered to be overly large and would present itself as an intrusive and incongruous feature in the open aspect at the end of Spital Lane and which would detract from the visual setting of the Grade-II listed Spital Barn and Coachhouse set on the pavement edge on approach.

"The proposal would affect in a negative way the appreciation of the heritage asset for those living in the vicinity and travelling along Spital Lane.”

Plans for the installation were submitted by Dot Surveying, on behalf of Hutchinson telecommunications (H3G).

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A Three spokesperson said 5G rollout is ‘vital for residents and businesses of Chesterfield’ and this site was ‘critical’ to creating a reliable network.

"We carry out extensive searches and surveys to evaluate all the options,” she added.

"We then choose the option most likely to gain planning approval from the local council.

"This will include showing we have minimised the impact on residents and the locality.”

Planning documents describe 5G, short for ‘fifth-generation mobile networks, as ‘a truly transformational technology’.