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The site is located in the south west of a field, which is to the South West of Sunnybank Farm, which is off the A24 at Foxdale. To the south of the site is Stoney Mountain Plantation. The site is not zoned for development in the Isle of Man Planning Scheme (Development Plan) Order 1982. The surrounding area is agricultural or forestry land.
This application is seeking planning permission for the erection of an 8m high timber telegraph pole with 2 antennas, a 300mm diameter dish and an equipment cabinet. The cabinet would be 1200mm x 800mm x 1500mm high. A 1.5m high sod hedge would be constructed around the compound.
Within the adopted Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2007, the following policies are considered to be relevant in the determination of this application: General Policy 3, Environment Policy 1 and Infrastructure Policy 3.
General Policy 3 states that "Development will not be permitted outside of those areas which are zoned for development on the appropriate Area Plan with the exception of:
Environment Policy 1 states that "The countryside and its ecology will be protected for its sake. For purposes of this policy, the countryside comprises all which is outside the settlements defined in Appendix 3 at A.3.6 or which is not designated for future development on an Area Plan. Development which would adversely affect the countryside will not be permitted unless there is an over-riding national need in land use planning terms which outweighs the requirement to protect these areas and for which there is no reasonable and acceptable alternative."
Infrastructure Policy 3 states that "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, the removal of redundant infrastructure. Exceptions to this policy would need to demonstrate a strategic national need, which cannot otherwise be secured by mast sharing or alternative locations."
The following previous planning application is considered relevant in the assessment and determination of this application:
07/00854/B – Redevelopment of existing site comprising of the removal of the existing mast and the installation of a 17.5m high monopole mast with associated equipment cabinets – granted on 3rd July 2007.
Malew Parish Commissioners and the Highways Division of the Department of Transport have no objection to the application.
The application is proposing to install an 8m high timber telegraph pole mast with ancillary work to provide coverage in Foxdale.
The proposed mast is probably the least intrusive design which could be developed for the purpose. The proposed location is directly in front of Stoney Mountain Plantation, which would help to prevent sky lining of the mast. The telegraph pole would also blend more naturally with the backdrop of the
trees. The proposed mast is not visually intrusive and would not be prominent or incongruous within the locality.
The proposed cabinet would be located within a compound area, which would be surrounded by sod hedge. The proposed equipment cabinet is of standard design and size. The applicants have indicated that the cabinet would be colour coated green to reduce its impact on the visual amenities of the area.
Where it is considered that a proposed mast would be visually intrusive (which in the case of the current proposal it is not), Infrastructure Policy 3 requires it to be demonstrated that there is a strategic national need and that the location is essential.
As to national need, the Government have not set out any policy for there to be full coverage. There is no policy in the Government Plan and the applicant has stated in previous applications that their licence does not require them to achieve a specific level of coverage. There is thus no national need which should be set against the primary consideration of protection of the landscape.
With regard to the test of essential location, in the site selection process the applicant has stated that "This is the optimal site in the area as it is only from this part of Foxdale that coverage into both Foxdale and Lower Foxdale can be achieved. It will also provide good coverage on the eastern approach to Foxdale. The high natural elevation of this location means than 8 metre wooden telegraph pole can be used which will blend more naturally with the backdrop of trees. Antennas mounted on the pole will also be painted brown [to] match the surrounding trees. The pole will not be sky lined as it will not be higher than the surrounding woodland. This combined with a line of site to Beary Park make, this the best possible location in our view."
It should be noted that the applicant has stated that they have planning permission to place antenna on the close by National Grid Wireless mast, but this site has proven not to allow coverage of Lower Foxdale. They have also indicated that there will be no requirement for the development on the National Grid Mast. The applicant has installed 2 antennas and a dish on a temporary basis on the existing National Grid Wireless mast; however, these have now been removed from the site.
The applicants have provided coverage maps to show the difference in the coverage from the National Grid Wireless site and their current proposal. The proposed coverage from the new site would be far superior to the National Grid Wireless site.
Also, Cable and Wireless have permission to install new equipment onto a redevelopment scheme (07/00854/B) at the existing National Grid Wireless site. It has been indicated, verbally by National Grid Wireless, that Cable and Wireless do not wish to proceed due to the cost of redeveloping the site to allow them to install their equipment.
In respect of site sharing with Manx Telecom (MT), the applicant has stated that "the existing MT mast is not suitable for 2 operators and so a new significantly larger mast would be required and as this site is already visually intrusive, we felt that compounding this by increasing the size of the mast, to accommodate 2 operators, was not an acceptable solution. We would also need to install additional cabinets or an additional cabin, which again would add significantly to the visual impact of the development. For these reasons a site share with MT was not felt to be appropriate in this case."
The applicant have also considered areas in the field surrounding the proposed site but these were rejected due to the following factors: 1) No line of site to the Beary mast (required for transmission), 2) Too close to residential properties, 3) Too close to the existing MT site (Manx Telecom's lease prohibits development of a communications site within 40m of their site) and 4) Excessive visual impact on the landscape.
The applicants also point out that "a development was considered as close as possible to the existing MT site and although significantly cheaper to develop it was rejected in favour of our current
proposal, simply because the submitted proposal was felt to be significantly more sympathetic to the environment, the site we have proposed is intended to be virtually invisible for more than 200m."
The applicants have considered another location in the centre of Foxdale, i.e. the Clock Tower, but this was rejected due to the close proximity of residential properties and a school. It should be noted that Manx Telecom have a number of permissions within the centre of Foxdale but have not pursued them due to residents objecting to a telecommunication mast near to their homes and school. In addition a site in the area of Ballamona Farm/Lheakerrow was looked into but was felt to be a poor technical solution.
Overall, it is considered the applicants have demonstrated that the proposed location for the mast represents the best practicable solution and in any event, the proposed development could not reasonably be regarded as visually intrusive.
In terms of the health issues of a telecommunication mast, the Isle of Man has no specific guidelines in how to deal with such concerns. However, the UK Government has produced such advice in Planning Policy Guidance Note 8 –Telecommunications (PPG8)–. PPG8 expressly advises that where a proposed telecommunications installation conforms to the recommendation of The Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones (The Stewart Report) and the guidelines for the public exposure set by The International Commission On Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) then the local planning authority should have no concerns with regard to health and safety issues.
The application is accompanied by a certificate of compliance with the World Health Organisation ICNIRP guidelines for public exposure.
The Health and Safety Inspectorate is responsible for the monitoring of telecommunications installations to ensure compliance with the ICNIRP Guidelines.
It is recommended that planning permission be granted subject to conditions in the attached schedule.
The Department of Transport and the local authority are, by virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2005, paragraph 6 (5) (c) and (d), considered "interested persons" and as such should be afforded party status.
In summary, it is considered that the following parties, who submitted comments, accord with the requirements of Planning Circular 1/06 and are therefore, afforded interested party status:
Recommended Decision: Permitted
Date of Recommendation: 20.10.2008
C : Conditions for approval
N : Notes attached to conditions R : Reasons for refusal
C 1. The development hereby permitted shall commence before the expiration of four years from the date of this notice.
C 2. This permission relates to the erection of an 8 metre telegraph pole with 2 antennas and equipment cabinet as shown in drawing numbers HLK/08/0299/1, HLK/08/0299/2, HLK/08/0299/3, antenna and equipment cabinet details, and photograph date stamped 26th June 2008, Declaration of Conformity with ICNIRP Public Exposure Guidelines dated 13/06/008, Email from Steve Allan of Cable and Wireless plc dated 31st October 2008.
C 3. In the event of the antennas, telegraph pole and cabinet erected under this approval become redundant they must be taken down along with all ancillary infrastructure and be removed from the site within 3 months of the cessation of use and the land restored back to form part of the field.
C 4. Within one month of the installation of the equipment cabin and the antennas hereby approved, they shall be colour coated in full accordance with the approved plans. Any replacement or modification shall be colour coated to match within one month of it being carried out.
Decision Made : Granted Committee Meeting Date : 13/11/08
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