By Controversial 5G mast on Great Coates Road approved by North East Lincolnshire Council
North East Lincolnshire Council have granted approval to the new Three UK 5G mast on Great Coates Road in a meeting today.
This comes after a high number of objections from local residents concerning the appearance of the mast and the potential health concerns, such as the radiation levels that would be emitted.
In their objections, many residents suggest moving the 5G mast to a point further along Great Coates Road.
When discussing this, Senior Town Planner Jonathan Cadd said:
“The applicant has indicated that realistically they have roughly a 50-80 metre tolerance in terms of where these masts could be located before they lose the coverage area which they require.
“We have considered that and I think all we’d be doing in that instance would be to transfer the impact of this from one area of Great Coates Road to further along, which would have greater impacts on other residential properties whilst admittedly reducing the impact on the current objectors. So we just really would be swapping those impacts from one area to another.
“We’re not shying away from the fact that it will be a large mast, it will be a visual addition to the street scene, but these are seen now in many urban areas. They’re more of an accepted feature. And if we want the technology, then unfortunately these masts have to go somewhere. But in this instance we feel the location is the best location that can be provided,” he concluded.
The location of the mast is marked in red
Cllr Tim Mickleburgh commented: “If somebody lives in the centre of a town, you expect development, constant developments all the time, whether it’s telephone boxes going up or down, street lights going up, and I’m sure that generations ago, people might’ve not liked having telephone wires going up.
“But the fact is, technology is dominating our lives more and more and indeed we’ve seen over the last year over the move to virtual meetings because of the Covid-19 pandemic, how much we rely on technology. If people seriously are struggling to access it because of the lack of a mast, then I think that’s an important consideration.”
The 15-metre high 5G mast on Great Coates Road is set to be constructed in due course.
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