Residents continue fight to block 'dangerous' 5G mast on their street

People living in West Lane in Baildon objected to the plans by Hutchison UK Ltd for the mast on a grass verge at the corner with Greencliffe Avenue when the bid first went in.

But despite 58 objections, Bradford Council planners deemed the scheme did not need prior approval and work began to lay the foundations shortly afterwards.

David Rees, who lives in the house closest to the 5G mast, said: "I am convinced that this is a seriously flawed proposal which has not been adequately researched. It is, in the opinion of every local resident, far too dangerous to proceed."

But both the Council and the applicant, say they are playing by the rules. The Council said its planning powers are "very limited" around these types of masts due to Government regulations.

Campaigners in Baildon are fighting against a 5G mast being installed on West Lane outside homes and near a junction

And Hutchison UK, more commonly known as Three, said they had chosen a location which minimised the visual impact on residents - and in this instance the nearest buildings were side on and there was tree screening too. It would also be built on the grass verge not the pavement and visibility and the junction was found to be safe.

Mr Rees told the Telegraph & Argus that objectors still believed this was not a suitable site, pointing to the applicant's own documents listing other sites in the area they had already ruled out for reasons that could also apply here.

Concerns include road safety - the base cabinet would block visibility for vehicles at the junction, and there are existing underground services on the verge.

He added that he believed procedural errors had been made in determining the application and would make an official complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman and Planning Inspectorate.

The Council said: “This proposed installation is similar to hundreds of masts being installed across the UK and the prior notification application has been processed in line with government regulations.

“The government is keen to assist the roll out of 5G networks and the council has very limited planning powers on these masts. We can only consider siting and appearance concerns for this kind of application. This has been done carefully.

“The council went beyond the publicity regulations by posting letters to local residents and displaying a site notice clearly referencing a comments deadline date twice.

“We did this to ensure local residents had a good chance to comment and have communicated with people before and after the decision.”

A Three spokesman said: “Masts need to be situated where people will be using the service and, in precise locations to ensure the widest breadth of coverage. 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.

"5G rollout is vital for residents and businesses of Bradford. We want to offer the community a reliable network experience and this site will be critical to making that happen.”