Planning officials in North Lanarkshire have recommended that permission should be awarded for proposals to introduce a 40m, 5G mast at Fir Park Street in Motherwell.
A previous planning application to put in a place a 45m mast at the same location within the grounds of Fir Park Stadium was rejected by the committee in October 2021.
The previous application attracted controversy in the local area and the new, slightly revised plans have also proven to be unwanted with 52 individual objections to the development.
No supporting comments have been submitted.
It will be for the elected councillors who sit on the Planning Committee to decide whether to approve or reject planning permission.
Scottish Conservative councillor for Motherwell South East and Ravenscraig, Nathan Wilson said the rollout of 5G infrastructure was "very important" for improving connectivity.
He told Lanarkshire Live : "However, the right locations have to be chosen for the placement of the masts and I do not believe that this is the case with the Fir Park proposal.
“In my own reading of the new Local Development Plan, it does seem that the proposal fails to meet key criteria set out in the document when it comes to the appropriateness of new developments in a general urban area and my objection was focused on material planning considerations.
“The Planning Assessment section of the papers prepared for the upcoming committee meeting actually goes onto state that ‘the scale of the development is not generally in keeping with residential character’ of the local area.
“Despite this statement pointing out that the plans for a large-sized 40m, 5G tower at Fir Park is not consistent with the local residential character, it has still been deemed appropriate to recommend permission.
“Whilst disappointing that the recommendation has been made in favour of granting permission, it is ultimately not surprising as this was the same advice given for the previous planning application.”
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