**Document:** Peel Harbour Supporting Statement **Application:** 06/02162/B — Replacement of a wooden flagpole with a 6m steel flagpole with shrouded antennas with associated equipment cabinet **Decision:** Permitted **Decision Date:** 2007-03-02 **Parish:** German **Document Type:** report / planning_statement **Source:** https://planningportal.im/a/82106-german-public-conveniences-replacement/documents/1485805 --- # Peel Harbour Supporting Statement ## Telecommunications Installation For Cable & Wireless Isle Of Man Limited AT ### Peel Harbour. Peel Harbour West Quay Isle of Man **SUPPORTING STATEMENT** DATE: 5th December 2006 PREPARED BY: CH2M HILL CH2MHILL CABLE & WIRELESS ISLE OF MAN REF: 104 – Peel Harbour CABLE & WIRELESS ## 1. Introduction Cable and Wireless Isle of Man Limited (C & W) have recently been awarded an Isle of Man (IOM) Mobile Operators License issued by the Island's Communications Commission to provide a mobile phone network and service to the Island's inhabitants and visitors. This service will compete with the incumbent operator (Manx Telecom) and will allow greater choice and competition for the consumers. The Mobile phone network will consist of a number of sites that have a combination of equipment, such as panel antenna that provide coverage in the vicinity and also transmission dishes that link sites together and with others in the wider network to provide continuous coverage throughout the Island. Where possible C&W will endeavour to install their equipment on existing infrastructure or radio transmitters. The aim always is to minimise the visual impact of providing this new mobile phone network. Where this is not possible and it is necessary to introduce additional telecommunications infrastructure onto the Island this supporting statement will justify both why the infrastructure is required and demonstrate that the best possible available site has been identified keeping visual amenity as a priority at all times. It will also help to explain the decisions which led to the specific location being chosen and what alternatives were discounted. A variety of supporting information may be included with each application but ultimately the C&W aim is to minimise the number of new structures and the overall visual impact of the network whilst providing sufficient signal strength to provide coverage for customers to take advantage of the C&W services that will become available. ## 2. The proposal The proposed development will consist of a new 5.8m 'replica flagpole' galvanised steel monopole with a shrouded a tri sector antenna contained within it. This will be placed on top of the harbour toilet block. The structure is to be painted white to replicate a flagpole design and will replace an existing wooden structure on the site. A metrosite telecoms cabinet is to be placed inside an existing service room within the toilet block. ## 3. The application site The proposed development is to be located on top of and within an existing toilet block at the end of West Quay in Peel. The location of the structure has been carefully considered and will be disguised, as best as possible to look like a flagpole type structure and will replace the existing wooden flagpole. The cabinet is to be placed inside a currently unused service area within the toilet block and will not be visible to the public. The site has been chosen to minimise the impact on visual amenity by taking the site away from the densely built commercial area and residential properties in the centre of Peel. We felt looking back from West Quay would be a good compromise, to try and avoid locating in a sensitive location but still allow us to get coverage in the Central area of Peel. By utilising the existing building and being able to replace an existing flagpole for something that looks similar was felt to be the best option with little effect on visual amenity. ### 4. Site selection process and discounted options The site is being used to cover Central Peel. This is a difficult area to give coverage as there are no exiting Telecoms structures and no available rooftops to provide the height required to cover the central Peel Area. Central Peel is also covered by a conservation area which we avoided in our searches due to the sensitive nature of any development within this zoning. The Mill Road Industrial area between the Power Station and Harbour was investigated as there were potential options to place a new Greenfield Mast. However technically this area will not provide us with coverage to Central Peel and in most cases duplicates the coverage provided form an adjacent site on Peel Hill. Consideration to Peel AFC football club was also given but again coverage to the commercial centre was poor and its proximity to the School made it likely to be a more sensitive location. Therefore we needed to find a site close to the town centre but located and designed to minimise the impact on visual amenity as best we could. This location is away from residential properties and therefore does not impact on their views. The location enables us to see the main commercial centre though the coverage is limited to a degree by not being centrally located and being at a relatively low height. It was also felt that this was using a fairly utilitarian 'working' location as the Quay here is used to unload heavy Cargo including oil. Consideration in this harbour location was made to use the Lifeboat station (RNLI Building) but the RNLI were not prepared to allow us to use the building. This decision came after correspondence with the RNLI facilities and engineering departments who confirmed that they were taking a nationwide UK stance they will not allow telecoms on their buildings at the present time. We therefore chose to locate on the toilet block to allow the cabinet to go within an existing structure and use the block structure itself to give us some of the height we required. By replacing a flagpole and by putting up a structure similar in appearance was considered the best opportunity available to us to limit the effect on visual amenity. In summary therefore this is considered to be the best use of existing infrastructure with little effect on visual amenity. ### 5. Pre application consultation We have met on several occasions with Ian Brooks to discuss various proposals including this site. He was clear in the view that the conservation area was to be avoided if at all possible. He said that he understood the decision making process we had used in coming to use this site and that the merits of this particular scheme can be viewed in more detail with a formal ## Ch2Mhill application and drawings. An extra elevation was requested by the planner and this has been included in the general arrangement drawings attached. ### 6 Planning History We are not aware of any other telecoms applications in this vicinity ### 7. Need for the development Please see the plots provided. This site covers an important commercial area to the centre of Peel. We have compromised on the height in this location to protect Visual Amenity but we need at least 9m from ground level to get reasonable penetration into the required area. This site will cover a small densely populated area to the centre of Peel including the beach but does not stretch to cover areas outside this. ### 8. Siting and appearance The location of the structure has been carefully considered so the proposal will replicate as best as possible a flagpole style structure and will replace an existing flagpole. It will be painted white and will not look out of place with the surrounding Quay area which is a busy working port that has numerous vehicles and boats moving in the vicinity. We are using a Tri Sector antenna in order to achieve this which compromises coverage but enables a slimmer structure to be used and therefore will resemble a flagpole much better. The ground based telecoms cabinet has been made visually unobtrusive by using a currently vacant service area within the toilet block and is not visible to the general public. ### 9. Island Plan – Draft Strategic Plan November 2004. We have reviewed the draft strategic plan in order that we adhere to the requirements and directives contained therein wherever possible. The following was particularly noted 1.6.1 "where unusual matters arise, or where there is no Manx guidance, it will often be appropriate and helpful to have regard to legal judgements or advice published in the UK or the EU" In cases where there is no clear guidance we have followed the UK best practice as outlined in PPG8. It was evident from the 6 main strategic aims looking at maintaining 'Quality of Life' then there must be a balance between economic progress in the pursuit of "manageable and sustainable growth" 2.3(2) and the need "to protect and improve the quality of the environment" 2.3(4) This is further highlighted as follows ## Ch2Mhill 3.3 (d) - "to protect the individual character of and identity of settlements and to identify and protect those green spaces in built areas which contribute positively to public amenity". 3.4 (c) - "to safeguard and provide for the needs and aspirations of existing and new location dependant businesses". Within the transport and Communications section it states 3.5 (h) – "to ensure that the island is well served by modern telecommunications without compromising the protection of our landscape". Finally within Transport Infrastructure and Utilities 11.9.2 – "It is important that a balance be struck between the need for a new evolving telecommunications systems to satisfy residential and business demand and the impact that the necessary infrastructure will have on 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. In all cases during the search and planning consultation we have endeavoured always to compromise our technical requirements with the need to reduce visual impact of the proposed development. We believe this has been satisfactorily achieved in this instance and therefore complies with the requirements of the strategic plan. Under the Planning Scheme Development Plan Provisional Order 1982 the site is 'existing industrial use'. We therefore expect the land designation to be relatively suitable for this use. ### 10. Health and safety This site has been designed in accordance with the current mainland UK Cellular operator's guidance for both Occupational & Public ICNIRP compliance. Our design consultants are satisfied that this site design complies with the above guidelines and therefore a signed ICNIRP certificate is enclosed with this application. ### 11. Telecoms Policies 1) Isle of Man Government Statutory Boards, Offices & Agencies Plans 2006-2009. Volume 3. Page 25, under Communications Commission Aims & Objectives Section: Objective: Social inclusion – To enhance access to services for the whole population: "We will enforce universal service obligations by telecoms operators with significant market power. They must provide telephone services throughout the Island, " ### 12. Summary We consider in summary therefore a) There is a definite need for the site to provide important coverage and extra capacity to the centre of Peel. ## Ch2Mhill b) The siting and appearance has been carefully considered to provide the least visual impact as possible The design proposed represents both the optimum planning/environmental and technical solution in this instance. As such the development as proposed is in accordance with planning guidance as defined above --- *Data sourced from the Isle of Man public planning register under the [Isle of Man Open Government Licence](https://www.gov.im/about-this-site/open-government-licence/).* *Canonical page: https://planningportal.im/a/82106-german-public-conveniences-replacement/documents/1485805*