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Bid by EE and Three to keep temporary phone mast in Fordingbridge field rejected by New Forest NPA and Planning Inspectorate




A MOBILE phone mast will have to be ripped down from a Forest field after an appeal was thrown out.

Mobile Broadband Network Limited (MBNL), comprising operators EE and Three, had applied to New Forest NPA for permission to keep the temporary base on land near Hyde Garden Shop in Fordingbridge.

The NPA rejected the application, and an appeal was launched. Now, the Planning Inspectorate has also dismissed that, saying the benefits of retaining the base would not outweigh the “harm” it does to the environment.

Telecommunications equipment visible on land adjacent to Hyde Garden Shop (Google)
Telecommunications equipment visible on land adjacent to Hyde Garden Shop (Google)

In a report, the inspector noted a temporary telecoms base station was set up in 2019 on land opposite Ashley View to maintain phone coverage in the area. The permission for the site expired in December 2020.

The appeal site adjacent to Hyde Garden Shop was established for an 18-month period on 24th February 2021 under permitted development rights. The inspector wrote that the applicant does not dispute the temporary base station has a “harmful effect” on the national park and the conservation area.

Dismissing the latest appeal, the inspector wrote: “The proposal fails to demonstrate that it would not have a harmful effect upon the tranquillity of the national park; and would not unacceptably harm the living conditions of neighbouring occupiers, with particular regard to noise and disturbance. This factor attracts significant weight against the proposal.

“Drawing all of the above together, it is clear that the public benefits of the proposal, to which I have attached moderate weight, would not outweigh the totality of the harm that I have found. Furthermore, in the particular circumstances of this case, the temporary nature of the proposal does not sufficiently outweigh the harms that I have found.”



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