Plans blocked for 65ft phone mast near care home

Plans to install a 65ft (20m) high phone mast near a care home in Bradford have been blocked.

The proposal for the streetpole had included the installation of six antennas and two street-level cabinets on a grass verge on Ladderbanks Lane in Baildon.

However, Bradford Council denied telecoms provider Cornerstone permission to erect the mast after receiving 10 objections to the plan.

Refusing the scheme, planners said the mast would be a "highly prominent and visually intrusive feature within the streetscape".

In its application, Cornerstone had said the site was "identified as the most suitable option that balances operational need with local planning policies and national planning policy guidance".

The document added: "It will deliver public benefit in terms of the mobile services it will provide."

Opposing the plan, one resident said the grass verge was used as a pedestrian shortcut and play area, while another raised concerns about its proximity to Holden Grange care home, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Turning down the proposal, planners said the development would be "clearly visible from adjacent dwellings, Holden Grange Care Group residential accommodation and care home and the wider area".

"Although some views would be partially screened by existing trees, these are deciduous and only in leaf part of the year and the mast would exceed their height, meaning any screening would be limited and seasonal," they said.

"This harm is not outweighed by the economic and social public benefit."

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