Concern over 15-metre 5G mast in Kingsclere
Plans for a 15-metre high 5G mast in Kingsclere are threatening to polarise the community.
CK Hutchison Networks (UK) Ltd, which owns Three, has submitted plans to build the mast on George Street, on the bend between Coppice Road and Elm Grove.
The mast is intended to improve network coverage and capacity, and will “assimilate well into the immediate street scene and not be detrimental”.
The plans have had a mixed response within the village community, however.
On the local Kingsclere Community page on Facebook, residents debated the mast’s location, arguing there must be less conspicuous sites in the village where it could be placed.
The planning application has also attracted several objections from local residents.
Daisy Freestone of Coppice Road said the proposed location would “result in significant visual harm to the immediate surroundings” and was “vulnerable to possible impact from vehicles”.
Steve Maydell of Thorneley Road, whose garden is overlooked by the mast, said: “I find it hard to believe that in this village there are not more convenient and centralised locations which do not overlook people's gardens.
“The fact a 15m pole is required to elevate it also suggests that a location higher up would be more suitable and we have many higher points in and around the village than the proposed site.
“The plan as it stands will cause major disruptions, create an eyesore for numerous households, as well as everyone driving into the village, and will ultimately leave us with a huge telecoms pole and cabinets stood alongside a path used by many children on their walks to school.”