195496 — 24/00468/B | Planning Portal IoM | Isle of Man Planning Portal

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Atlantic House, 4-8 Circular Road, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 1AG. T +44 (0)7624 247 247 www.sure.com Sure (Isle of Man) Limited Incorporated in the Isle of Man with Company Registration No. 004621V VAT Registration No. 002 5665 08 Registered Office: Fourth Floor, Atlantic House, 4-8 Circular Road, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 1AG

Replacement Structure

FOR Sure (IOM) Ltd

Sure Site 50 Field 114490 West Kimmeragh Farm Bride Isle of Man IM7 4BA

Planning Application Supporting Statement

DATE: 15th April 2024

PREPARED BY: Alex Taylor Sure IOM Ltd

Sure IOM REF: IOM_50 West Kimmeragh

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In 2006/7 Sure Isle of Man Limited (Sure) was awarded an Isle of Man (IOM) Mobile Operators Licence, issued by the Islands Communications Commission (CURA), to provide a mobile phone network and services to the Islands inhabitants and visitors. This service competes with the incumbent operator (Manx Telecom) and allows greater choice and competition for consumers and businesses.

The Sure Mobile Network is made up of multiple sites around the Island, these mobile sites use radio equipment to provide mobile coverage around the Island, this equipment includes mobile panel antennas, radio equipment and also transmission dishes that we use to link our remote sites back to our core network. All our sites then combined provide all Island coverage for our customers.

Sure, will endeavour whenever possible, to install its equipment on existing infrastructure or radio transmitters. The aim is always to minimise the visual impact of providing mobile phone network infrastructure.

Where this is not possible, and it is necessary to introduce additional telecommunications infrastructure, this supporting statement will justify why the infrastructure is required and demonstrate that the best possible design available for the site has been identified, always keeping visual impact and amenity a priority.

It will also help to explain the decisions which led to the specific location being chosen and will outline which alternatives were considered and discounted.

A variety of supporting information may be included with each application but ultimately Sures aim is to minimise the number of new structures and reduce the visual impact of the network, whilst providing sufficient signal strength to provide coverage for customers to take advantage of a range of Sures services.

For the avoidance of doubt: a mobile site, as referred to in this document, is a combination of equipment including cabinets, antennas, and structures, required to facilitate the operation of a mobile phone network.

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The proposed development will consist of replacing the current 8-meter lightweight lattice with a heavier duty 8-meter slimline lattice tower on the existing Sure mobile site located at Field 114490, West Kimmeragh Farm, Bride.

The proposed structure will be capable of supporting multiple panel antennas, providing 2G, 3G and 4G/4G+ coverage in the area along with capability to support next generation mobile antenna technology, tower mounted remote radio heads (RRHs) will also be mounted near the new antennas, these are required to support MIMO* on the network.

*MIMO, Multiple In Multiple Out, this is a protocol required for higher speeds and high capacity 4G/LTE

The new proposed structure will also support smaller dishes known as microwave links used as transmission links for the site back to the Sure core network, the proposed design includes 2 microwave links, the size/location of the dishes on the included drawings for this application are indicative until a final vendor decision has been made, final sizes will be confirmed with planning ahead of installation.

The Application Site

The proposed replacement structure will be built on the existing Sure mobile site, in the current position of the monopole.

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We believe that the visual impact of the proposed replacement structure will be minimal, due to the structure type, having opted to replace the current structure with the same type of structure and also move it closer into the building, the visual impact of the site should reduce.

Current structure

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Equipment Cabinets

The current Sure site building will remain in place and all the relevant mobile equipment cabinets will be housed within this building.

Antennas

The following antennas have been selected for the new proposed structure, the visual impact of the antennas should be minimal, due to the structure type and the neutral colour of the panel antennas, the antennas can also be painted to suit the surroundings if required.

Number of Antennas 3 Antenna Type 2.0m Panel Antenna Antenna Height 1998mm Antenna Width 469mm Antenna Depth 205mm Antenna Frequency Ranges 690 - 960 MHz 1695 - 2690 Mhz

Equipment Cabinets & Antenna sizes/locations and quantities are indicative as the final vendor decision has not yet been made, sizing will be confirmed with planning ahead of installation *

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The current Sure mobile site at West Kimmeragh Farm is limited on future network enhancements due to the current structure type as the current lattice has failed the windloading assessment based on the new equipment specifications, this means we would be unable to install the new kit at this site, the new proposed structure would be designed to have increased structural strength, enabling it to support next generation equipment along with future network enhancements.

These improvements directly support the Isle of Man Governments ‘Island Plan’ which has a vision of a digitally connected Island, that supports a tech enabled and future ready jurisdiction, the surrounding area will benefit from greater network capacity and service due to these improvements to the Sure mobile site.

Telecoms Policies

Isle of Man Government Statutory Boards, Offices & Agencies Plans 2006-2009. Volume 3. a. Page 25 under Communications Commission Aims & Objectives Section: Objective: Social inclusion - to enhance access to services for the whole population: b. “We will enforce universal service obligations by telecoms operators with significant market power. They must provide telephone services throughout the Island,”
Isle of Man Government Statutory Boards< Offices & Agencies Plans 2005-2008. Volume 3 a. Page 20, under Communications Commission Aims & Objectives Section. Objective; The built environment - to reduce the visual impact of telecommunications and radio infrastructure on the island’s landscape. b. “We will encourage increased mast sharing by broadcasters, under the Radio Masts Regulation Act Limitations”.
The Town and Country Planning Act 1999. a. Page 101: “A balance must be struck between the need for new, evolving communications systems to satisfy residential and business demand and the impact that the necessary infrastructure will have upon the environment. Measures which may help to achieve a satisfactory balance will include a presumption against visually intrusive masts in sensitive landscapes, the encouragement of mast sharing by different operators, and the removal of redundant infrastructure. Exceptions to this policy would need to demonstrate a strategic national need, which cannot be otherwise secured by mast sharing or alternative locations.”
1. Isle of Man Government Digital Strategy and Digital Inclusion Strategy

https://issuu.com/isleofmangovernment/docs/digital_strategy_v0.1?e=17903168 /13316277 https://www.gov.im/media/1352205/digital-inclusion-strategy-july-2016.pdf

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1.3 “Most people take digital technology and the internet for granted. It is something that has become so deeply embedded in daily life that it is hard to function when access to it is lost.”
2.3 “In line with providing more digital services, Government needs to ensure that residents of the Island are equipped with the access, skills, motivation and trust to go online, to help those who want to be digitally capable to make the most of the internet.”

Sure IOM Ltd believes the proposed installation complies with the Island’s policies and strategies above.

Summary

To summarise, we consider that this application will offer the best available solution to the enhancement of mobile service on the Sure network in the area.

The current mobile site is in the optimal position to provide coverage to the surrounding areas, alternative sites would not provide sufficient benefit to justify its development.

Therefore, the design proposed represents both the optimum planning, environmental and technical solutions in this instance. As such, we believe the development as proposed is in accordance with planning guidance as defined above.

Historic Planning Applications

• Original planning for Sure mobile site at West Kimmeragh Farm o 13/91488/B - Erection of replacement mast and telecommunications equipment / antenna