A local council has been forced to apologise after "internal errors" resulted in a 5G mast being erected without any consultation with residents.
Newport City Council has issued an apology after the telecommunications mast was put up on Lambourne Way in Bettws, Newport this week without residents' knowledge of its installation.
Certain developments are subject to "prior approval" when they are submitted to local authorities.
Telecoms developments normally have a legal 56-day period for the local authority to confirm this prior approval or not, and this normally involves consultations with local communities where locals can give their opinions and comments.
It is understood an error occurred when Newport City Council 's finance department failed to notify its technical support team that the fee paid by the company submitting the application had been received. This meant planning officers had no knowledge of the submission and no consultation took place.
By the time the error was discovered last June the 56-day window had passed which meant consent was automatically given and the application went ahead.
A council spokesman said it wished to "sincerely apologise" that residents were not consulted over the mast, saying "some internal errors" meant the application was not processed in the usual way.
Organisations and governments have reassured people that 5G technology is safe after a number of masts were attacked in the UK following false information suggesting a link with coronavirus. A public information campaign was launched in February 2021 in order to dispel myths around the technology.
Tracy Martin from Bettws said she was "shocked" when she first noticed the mast earlier this week.
"I realised on Tuesday morning when I was taking my son to school," she said. "It must have started the night before. It's right in the middle of Bettws by the shopping centre and near the nursing home. I was just so shocked I was seeing it."
Tracy said the mast had been erected completely unbeknown to residents in the area and that "something had gone amiss".
She said: "They just put it up without our knowledge. It's just wrong. There was one refused in Duffryn, and we should have had the chance to decide if we wanted it or not."
Local Bettws councillor Kevin Whitehead said he was aware that the mast had been erected without the community's knowledge.
"If residents contact me with an issue, I raise it," he said, adding that he had been contacted by the council which had told him about the error.
"I have no particular views on it myself [but] there is due process with these things and in this case it appears that has been overlooked. No consultation was undertaken. There has been a failure in due process which from the council is quite poor."
A group of residents have organised a meeting for Saturday, February 12 at 12pm at Bettws Social Club to share their concerns.
Newport City Council spokesman said: "Newport City Council would like to sincerely apologise that relevant parties were not consulted in the usual way over an application for a telecommunications mast in Bettws.
"It can confirm an application was submitted for prior approval but some internal errors meant it was not processed in the usual way.
"These are exceptional circumstances and steps have been taken to ensure it does not happen again.
"However, the mast now has deemed consent as the application was not processed within the required 56 days.
"Local members were informed about what happened in September. The council regrets that consultations were not carried out in respect of this application to give residents and local members an opportunity to comment."
To get the latest news from WalesOnline sent straight to your email inbox click here .
