Plans approved for 20m-high 5G mast near Wakefield village
Plans to install a 20m-high 5G phone mast close to a Wakefield village have been approved.
The proposals include locating a radio base station on a grassed area beside Bradford Road, in Wrenthorpe.
Cornerstone, a mobile infrastructure service services company, said the work was essential to ensure local residents have access to the latest technology.
The scheme includes placing antennas, transmission dishes and equipment cabinets at the greenbelt site near to Brandy Carr Road and the A650 Wrenthorpe Bypass.
The company said the site had been chosen as it is located away from residential properties, with the nearest homes around 200m away.
A statement submitted to Wakefield Council said: “Due to the significant number of daily commuters, as well as the residents and businesses in the wider area, there is a high demand for high-quality 4G and 5G coverage and capacity.
“The proposal at this site will provide enhanced 4G coverage, as well as new 5G coverage, to meet this demand.
“Without this site, the operator’s customers will not be able to use their hand-held devices as intended.
“The lack of coverage and sufficient capacity would result in buffering and dropped calls, leaving customers with unreliable service in this area and creating a gap in coverage.”
The document said the equipment chosen for the site was “commonplace for these semi-rural locations.”
The company added: “The proposed height at 20m is essential in order to provide enhanced coverage to the target coverage area as new 5G radio technologies operate in higher frequency bands than older technologies.
“The new antennas need to handle a significant amount of data and capacity and as such need to be this size in order to accommodate all the technologies, including new 5G provision, in the one installation, without the need for an additional installation elsewhere in the immediate area around Wakefield.
“This is the slimmest design possible which will enable all technologies to be supported from this site.”
The Grade II-listed Melbourne House is also close to the site, but a planning officer said the mast would not affect the historic building.
Approving the proposal, the officer said: “The proposed scheme would not result in significant harm to highway safety or visual amenity of the application site and the wider area and would therefore accord with local and national policies.”