Chesterfield 5G Mast Proposal Objections

Local council to reject proposals to build a 5G mast in Chesterfield.

08:44 22 October 2021

Telecommunications giant Three's application to build a 5G mast in a residential area of Chesterfield is set to be rejected by the local council following objections from residents. 

 

Three is seeking permission to install a slimline street mast with a wrap-around cabin and three cabinets on Spital Lane. A spokesperson for the firm 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. 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.”

 

Following the filing, hundreds of residents came together urging Chesterfield Borough Council to reject the application arguing that the mast would pose a threat to nearby woodland and the wildlife which inhabits the area. 

 

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 have echoed residents' concerns. In a report, they said: “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.”