Latest phone mast even bigger worry for residents
APHONE mast that towers 20m above an area on the edge of Macclesfield’s green belt is to be replaced by even larger one.
Communications giant Vodafone wants to swap the existing monopole off Cowbrook Lane, Gawsworth, with a new one of 25m that has six antenna.
It is part of the company’s agreement with Telefonica UK to share equipment and sites while running two separate networks.
But residents have objected and say the current, smaller mast already dominates the skyline of a rural area on the edge of the Peak District.
One said: “I wish to object to the application to replace the already visually obtrusive monopole at this location with a significantly higher monopole and related equipment.
“This location is an area of special county value for landscape and as such is not appropriate for this development.”
Another said: “In an area of outstanding beauty this will be a blot on the landscape which will be seen by much of the surrounding area.”
According to one objection the reason given for the monopole improvement is to fill a gap in coverage on a nearby train line.
They ask why residents should pay for what is a benefit to people briefly passing through the area. The application was submitted in December last year and the deadline for submitting comments has been extended by more than a month until March 10
Cheshire East Council had set mid-February as the target for a decision but it is not known when the new target date is.
A report submitted with Vodafone’s application says it is ‘in the process of progressing a radio base station upgrade in the SK11 area’.
It states: “As part of Vodafone Ltd’s continued network improvement programme, there is a specific requirement for a new radio base station at this location.
”Mobiles can only work with a network of base stations in place where people want to use their mobile phones or other wireless devices.
”Without base stations the mobile phones and other devices we rely on simply won’t work.”
Vodafone has been contacted for further comment.