New EE mast in Frieth sparks backlash for public consultation

EE (UK) Limited is seeking conditional permission to erect a 17.5-metre-high telecoms mast on land north of Bushes Wood and east of Parmoor Lane, in Frieth.

The brown “pole type” mast will be part of the Home Office-led Emergency Services Network (ESN) to address “gaps in network coverage”, according to council documents.

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ESNs are critical communications systems for police, fire and rescue, ambulance services and a range of other users from local authorities to utility services, according to a government website.

The structure will be mounted on a concrete base within a fenced compound. The fencing will have “screen planting” on three sides.

The mast will bear two satellite dishes and antennas at the top will be concealed within a “shroud”. There will also be a ground-mounted dish at the base.

Ancillary equipment cabinets and a back-up power generator are also planned.

Cllr Chris Whitehead called in the application. He said Hambleden Parish Council and locals feel the mast “would be visually intrusive on the landscape”.

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“If a public consultation had been held, the interested parties would have been able to help identify potential sites, and we wouldn’t have the furore that we have now,” he said.

The parish council said it ‘strongly objects’ to the application. Adding: “The proposed site is a highly inappropriate location.”

More than 40 other objections have been submitted.

The nearest existing telecommunications mast is in Fining Wood.

The matter is due for debate during a West Buckinghamshire Area Planning Committee, on Tuesday, February 2.

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