Warning to residents near Emley Moor Mast as helicopters fly in to dismantle transmitter

The temporary mast was put up alongside the iconic Emley Moor Mast, officially known as the Arqiva Tower, despite the tower being due to come down two years ago.

More intense work is now being undertaken to remove the actual structure.

This will include helicopter flights with the Emley Moor site will be completely closed for a period of time.

As for the dismantling, this will involve helicopter flights and so local people have been advised. The Emley Moor site will also be closed to allow the work to take place and people are being asked to stay away from the site.

A helicopter can be seen transporting sections of the mast to the ground as workers use wires and ladders to access the upper levels of the temporary mast.

The temporary mast was required to enable engineers to undertake essential updates to the antenna on the tower as part of the nationwide ‘700Mhz Clearance’ project to clear some frequencies that were used for TV to be used for mobile data.

The 700MHz Clearance Programme was a major infrastructure project mandated by UK Government marking the biggest change to the terrestrial TV network since digital switchover.

The programme involved complex technical changes carried out by Arqiva engineers at more than 1,200 television transmitters, which serve more than 20 million households.

The programme was classed by Government as a Major Portfolio Programme completing ahead of schedule and significantly under budget.

The concrete tower at Emley began transmitting in 1971 and is a Grade II listed building. The iconic tower is 1,084ft (330.4m) tall.