A 20-metre-high phone mast is being proposed right next to Bath City Farm at Whiteway.
The entrance to Kelston View in Bath, next to Bath City Farm
The application has been submitted to Bath & North East Somerset Council by EE UK Ltd and Hutchison 3G UK Ltd.
It says the proposed installation at Kelston View, which will include a cabinet housing radio equipment at ground level, will provide continued and improved coverage for EE, H3G LTE and the ESN (Emergency Services Network) when the site at Bath City Football Club is decommissioned.
The application says: “It is vital to consider that although the City of Bath is a World Heritage Site, it also needs cutting-edge telecommunications services.
“A replacement site is now needed and will be crucial in maintaining network coverage in the Whiteway area of Bath.”
The proposed site is the grass verge beside the pavement at Kelston View. It is said to be in a “predominately residential” area and near the entrance to Bath City Farm.
One objector writing on the council’s planning portal says: “I am surprised that this would be the best place to put it, as many people come to view Bath from there. But more than that, it is going to be a possible danger to the City Farm and the people that live close to it.
“It will be only metres away from the play area at the City Farm, also the food restaurant area and outdoor sitting patio. It’s also doesn’t improve the view from any point for people looking at it from their homes.”
She highlights health concerns about phone masts and adds: “Would this be allowed in front of the Royal Crescent; oh no, it wouldn’t.”
Another objector says the proposed pole and equipment would significantly detract from the visual character of the main entrance to Bath City Farm, which welcomes around 70,000 visitors a year.
“While the expansion of the 5G network may be considered an important infrastructure priority, we respectfully request that alternative locations are explored which would avoid placing such infrastructure directly within the visual setting of a public green space and community destination.”
One concerned local resident comments that it’s too close to the children’s play area and animals at the farm and will be an “eyesore from my front window”.
The applicants say that discounted options have included other sites in Kelston View, three local pub car parks (Centurion Inn, Full Moon and White Horse), Meade House, Innox Park, The Hollow, Shophouse Road, Brickfields Park, Langdon Road, Bathwick Tyres, Western Lodge, and the roof of Twerton Mill.
The deadline for comments is next Wednesday, 25th March. The planning reference is 26/00719/TEL.
As we reported on Tuesday there is also a current proposal for a 20-metre-high phone mast on the A36 Lower Bristol Road near Weston Lock Retail Park which has been lodged by Cornerstone Telecommunications Infrastructure Limited.
It says the proposed mast will be a “consolidation” of the services provided by two sites nearby where a notice to quit has been served – the floodlight tower at Bath City Football Club and the rooftop of Redbridge Motors on Lower Bristol Road where redevelopment is planned.
