Phone giant wins mobile mast appeal

October 20th, 2007 by Westhoughton Liberal Democrats | Filed under > Top News, Planning.

The fight against an application for a mobile phone mast on Lower Leigh Road has been lost. Despite their plans for a 12.5 metre high phone mast and equipment box being refused by Bolton Council, the company won an appeal that was overseen by a government planning inspector.

The inspector ruled that there would be no implications for nearby residents despite objections to the plans being lodged by local people.

It was also decided that the mast would blend in with the street lights in the area.

The news will be a blow for residents who were buoyed by news that Bolton Council’s Planning Committee had voted against it.

Local councillor David Wilkinson, who sits on the committee, had persuaded members to refuse the plans based on the affect on visual amenities and the part of the highway in question.

The mobile phone company may, however, have found a weakness in the fact that the Labour-run Westhoughton Town Council had agreed in principal with the idea of the phone mast but had suggested that it be moved further down the road.

The mast and equipment box will be located on the grass verge that runs alongside the footpath. The applicant was Hutchinson 3G UK Limited.

3 Responses to “Phone giant wins mobile mast appeal”

Alan Bradshaw | 27/12/07
I suspect that a mobile phone mast in the Westhoughton area is causing a loss of digital TV signals in the Wearish Lane and Hindley Green areas.

When I read the report about the mast on Lower Leigh road, I thought it might be this one, but it seems not.

I had an aerial installer to my house on Alder Lane on Saturday last and he informed me that since the erection of a new mast that he did not recognise, householders in the Wearish Lane and Hindley Green areas are unable to receive many of the digital signals that we have been receiving for the past 3 years. He went on to give my aerial system a clean bill of health, stating that if this mast were to be switched off, then things might possibly return to normal. if it is not switched off, then we might see an improvement when the Digital Switch Over takes place in November 2009.

I find this unacceptable.

Is there some action I can take to get to the bottom of the problem?

Is there any help you can offer?

thanks for reading.

Alan
Westhoughton Liberal Democrats | 27/12/07
Thank you for your comment, Alan. Two useful websites you may wish to check out are the Ofcom site at http://www.ofcom.org.uk/ and the Digital Switchover website at http://www.digitaluk.co.uk/.
Ofcom oversees such issues and you can contact them by following the How To Complain link and the relevant pages that follow.
andrew pye | 25/04/08
The mobile phone mast is not responsible for the loss of signals on channel 66 and 68 i met the ofcomm engineer in Hindley green and he had the same Digital meter as me and he was baffled also. It is now in the hands of the broadcasting company i havent heard any more from them yet but the problem is still causing losss of channels for many people in Westhoughtion and Hindley green.