AN APPLICATION to install a new 5G telecommunications mast in Rhyl has been turned down by Denbighshire County Council (DCC).
The applicants, CK Hutchison Networks (UK) Ltd, hoped to set up the street pole, of 20 metres in height, on Vale Road, by the Shell petrol station.
A similar application from EE, to remove a 10m telegraph pole on Rhyl Road, Rhuddlan and replace it with one of 17.5 metres in height, has been approved by DCC, meanwhile.
DCC made its decisions on both applications on January 9.
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On the rejected Vale Road application, DCC said in its decision notice that a 20m mast would have a “significant visual impact on the character of the area and may affect the visual amenity of the area negatively”.
It added: “The preference would be for the mast to be re-sited to an alternative location away from the main approach road to the town centre.”
DCC’s Highways department made no objections, but Rhyl Town Council also put on record its opposition to the plans at a meeting on December 7, 2022.
Members were said to have been mindful of a similar mast installed by the same applicants at Greenfield Place, Rhyl, and the negative feedback being received from residents regarding its visual impact on the area.
Minutes from the meeting stated: “The town council believes that the mast, by way of its size and appearance, will have a negative impact on the character and amenity of the local area.”
It added that the proposed monopole “would appear out of scale, over-dominant and incongruous to the street scene and main entrance route into the town, and would severely disrupt the open space upon which it is proposed to be sited”.
On the approved Rhyl Road application, a covering letter said: “The location has been identified as being necessary for EE business development and meets its specific technical and operational requirements.”
Neither DCC’s Highways department, nor Rhuddlan Town Council, raised any objections to the proposals, which has been submitted last October.
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