A decision over the future of a controversial 5G mast in a Newcastle village has been put on hold.
Councillors were due to decide on Friday whether the 59ft phone mast in Hazlerigg would be allowed to stay in the village, after it was built in the wrong place. The Coach Lane pole has been labelled an “eyesore” since it was erected last year.
But Newcastle City Council has delayed the verdict on its future, after the firm behind the mast submitted new information about their plans at the eleventh hour. Louise Sloan, the local authority’s assistant director for planning, told members of a council planning committee on Friday morning that their decision on whether to grant retrospective permission for the 5G mast would have to be deferred.
Read More: 'Eyesore' 5G phone built in the wrong place could be set to stay in Newcastle village
A council spokesperson later confirmed to the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the extra information lodged by Cignal Infrastructure UK Limited, better known as mobile network provider Three, on Thursday night related to the “design and height” of the pole. However, no further details have yet been provided on the specifics of the submission.
The council added: “This information needs to be considered by the authority before the application is determined.”
Last year, a Government planning inspector granted approval for the mast to be built after it was initially rejected by the council. But it was later discovered that it was erected 18 metres away from where it should have been, something that was blamed on “land ownership issues”, meaning Three has had to come back to the council to seek planning permission for a second time.
More than 200 objections have since been made against the pole, which locals have called “ugly” and an “eyesore”. There have also been complaints that, since it was erected last year, it has become a target for graffiti and vandalism.
Despite the substantial opposition, which included objections from the Castle ward’s city councillors and Hazlerigg Parish Council, retrospective permission for the mast was expected to be granted before Friday’s delay. Civic centre planning officials had recommended the scheme for approval, saying that the mast was not “unduly intrusive” and caused “no significant harm to the character and visual amenity of the surrounding area”.
Cignal Infrastructure UK Limited told the Local Democracy Reporting Service last month that the development was “critical to us providing a reliable network experience to the community”.
