Phone tower plan next to historic Sandwell park blocked by council

The move to extend an existing mast near Old Hill Cricket Club and the historic Haden Hill Park was turned down by Sandwell Council’s planning committee over fears it would be overbearing.

But while the bid by WHP Telecoms was defeated by councillors, the applicant is expected to submit another application because it is already able to extend the height of the existing tower up to 25 metres without permission from the council.

A decision was made by councillors only over the width of the tower.

Planners at Sandwell Council had recommended the plan was approved and said the taller mast would be covered by enough trees and was far away enough from homes to not cause a problem.

Damian Hosker, from applicant WHP Telecoms, said the council “couldn’t do anything about the height” – because of a 2020 law change – and the company could move to extend the size of the existing tower without needing planning permission.

He said the taller mast was a “vital improvement,” the work was “modest” and the visual change would be “minimal.”

One objector, Mr Hollis of Haden Park Road, said the claim in the planning report the mast was not visible from nearby homes was not true and the cricket pavilion and trees would not cover it.

“The one question we would be asking is why haven’t alternative sites, given the size and scale of the masts, not been fully investigated?” he asked.

The way the application was advertised also came in from criticism from objectors, with the Haden Park Road resident saying that communication over the bigger communication tower was, ironically, “not particularly strong”.

“Only a couple of houses got the letters,” he told councillors. “And notices stuck on lamposts just don’t get read by people. I think there will be a few more people, when it does go up, that will be offended by it.”

He said painting the mast green, a concession agreed after the planning application was submitted, would do little to mask the tower when it would likely sit up to 20 feet above the surrounding trees and would be “visible from far greater distances”.

Councillor Jenny Chidley said the tower was an eyesore and called for the application to be rejected.

“I wouldn’t like that next to my house,” she said.

A 15-metre mast was first put in place in the mid-1990s before a 20-metre replacement was built in 2004.

At the time, Sandwell Council overlooked a 100-plus signature petition from neighbours and allowed the mast to be extended by five metres.