Controversial plans by two mobile phone giants to build a 24-metre mast at a South Bristol park will be debated at full council on Tuesday (June 5). A petition by campaigners against the proposed siting in the middle of Redcatch Park in Knowle by EE and Hutchison 3G has passed the 3,500-name threshold to trigger a formal discussion at the Bristol City Council meeting.
Mobile phone network company MNBL has applied to the local authority to install the mast and a compound of supporting equipment at the green space. The firm, acting for networks EE and Three, says it needs the mast to boost signals in the area because the previous one was removed from the roof of a nearby pub.
But the plans have sparked a huge backlash from residents, with more than 4,300 people signing a petition opposing the idea. And although the council owns the park, there is a limit to what it can do to resist temporary masts because mobile phone firms have emergency powers to bypass the need for planning consent, and the authority could be taken to court if it refuses permission.
