Plans submitted for 20-metre-high 5G telecoms mast near South Tyneside pub

South Tyneside Council’s planning department has received an application for land at John Reid Road in the Biddick and All Saints ward.

The plans from Cignal Infrastructure UK Limited are linked to a piece of land adjacent to the New Mill public house.

New plans for the site include the installation of a 20-metre-high ‘slimline monopole’ and associated works.

An applicant covering letter submitted to council officials states the location was identified as necessary to meet “specific technical and operational requirements”.

A supporting statement added the proposals are linked to a “requirement to upgrade the Cignal Infrastructure UK Limited (Three) network to provide improved coverage and capacity, most notably in relation to 5G services”.

It was also noted that the area is a “highly constrained cell search area” and that “the only viable solution that minimises amenity issues has been put forward”.

The supporting statement adds: “The site selection process has also been influenced by the numerous vertical elements of street furniture distributed around the vicinity of the site including street lighting columns.

“The height of the pole has been kept down to the absolute minimum capable of providing the required essential new 5G coverage.

“The site has been selected on a wide adopted area of the highway in a position that will not impede pedestrian flow or the safety of passing motorists”.

Those behind the scheme said the mast uses an “extremely discreet, slimline design” and would be “unlikely to have any material impact on the local area”.

If approved, the plans aim to “facilitate significantly improved 5G in areas that have started to gain this service and newly introduce it to the areas that have not gained this level of connectivity yet”.

The supporting statement added: “To bring this new technology to the people Cignal Infrastructure UK Limited will need to provide a mix of upgrades to existing sites and the building of new sites.”

“New sites will be needed for many reasons, including that the higher radio frequencies used for 5G do not travel as far as those frequencies currently in use and that sometimes not all existing sites can be upgraded”.

A decision on the planning application is expected to be made once a period of council consultation has concluded.

Comments can be made on the plans until September 7, via South Tyneside Council’s planning portal website.

For more information visit the website and search reference: ST/0510/23/TPN