New plans for 5G mast on busy road near Chesterfield

The company wants to place the pole and associated equipment on land opposite Matlock Road, Walton, as part of a bid to transform its network across Chesterfield.

It comes after earlier plans for a higher mast were refused by council planners.

Three claims that in the ‘unprecedented times’ brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, high-speed mobile connectivity ‘is the lifeblood of a community’.

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As part of its application to North East Derbyshire District Council, the company said the proposed site ‘provides the greatest possible option for providing the most efficient and effective connectivity’.

“It is our opinion that the proposed design presents a better ‘fit’ within the local community and immediate streetscape, offering a reduced visual impact upon an area of adopted highway,” planning documents say.

Three says 5G masts must be located within urban areas to enhance coverage for residents.

The application adds: “The very nature of installing new 5G mast infrastructure within such an urban setting requires a highly considered balance between the need to extend practical coverage reach with that of increasing risk of visual amenity intrusion.

"In this location, existing mast sites are not capable of supporting additional equipment compliment to extend coverage reach across the target area and prospective ‘in-fill’ mast sites are extremely limited.”

Last month, neighbouring Chesterfield Borough Council refused applications for 5G mast at Newbold Road, Newbold, on the grounds that such poles are ‘blighting the landscape’, and at Spital Lane, Spital.