Villagers oppose new plans for phone mast
Stanley residents believe look of their square will be ruined
People in Stanley are protesting against the proposed installation of a phone mast they reckon will ruin the look of the village square.
Perth and Kinross Council has received 30 objections to an application lodged by Galliford Try on behalf of Telefonica UK Ltd seeking permission to erect the 17.50-metre high mast in the square – just a stone’s throw away from the village’s primary school.
Among the objections is a letter to planners from Stanley and District Community Council (SDCC), which believes the proposed mast will look out of place in the village square and will take away from the hard work of local groups who have revived its look over the last few years with striking floral displays.
Stanley Primary School’s parent council has also filed an objection against the proposal saying the mast would tower over adjacent buildings as well as have a detrimental impact on a row of listed buildings in nearby Percy Street.
SDCC wrote: “There are not many villages fortunate enough to have a square, indeed even Perth fought long and hard to establish a square as a focal point.
“Local groups have recently [been] carrying out work to reestablish the square as a focal point and this construction will be out of keeping with what has been achieved.
“This is a small village surrounded by farmland where, surely, a suitable location could be found.
“There is no conceivable way the mast and attendant cabinets can blend in to the background.”
And Gillian Scotland, chair of the Friends of Stanley Primary School, wrote: “The proposed location for this mast is in the middle of the village square, immediately outside Stanley Primary School.
“At 17.5 metres high it would tower over any building in the immediate vicinity and would become the focal point of the square.
“Over the past few years various organisations in the local community, most notably Stanley In Bloom, have worked hard to improve the aesthetics of the village and a lot of this work has concentrated on the village square with the provision of flower baskets and maintenance of existing flower beds and the installation of a sculpture celebrating Stanley’s heritage.
“To install a tower which would detract from these efforts would be a poor reward for the hard work of the local community.”
Commenting further on the controversial application a SDCC spokesperson told the PA: “As the planning application is approaching a decision it is hoped that PKC take into account the full concerns of the community as indicated in the number of objections that they have received. The proposed mast location is near Stanley Primary School
“The community accepts that a telephone mast installation is necessary to improve mobile telephone reception in the area but not in a location within the centre of this quaint historic village or as in this case in the centre of the village square adjacent to the primary school.
“SDCC would welcome an opportunity to meet and discuss the installation of a telephone mast in the area with planning consultant Galliford Try or their client Telefonica UK Ltd.”
A Telefonica spokesperson said: “Telefonica identified the need to improve coverage in Stanley. The proposed development will provided improved 2G, 3G and 4G network coverage to Telefonica customers locally.”