Jarrow residents lose battle to stop 20-metre EE 5G mobile phone mast near Fellgate Nexus Metro station
Proposals for a large telecommunications mast in South Tyneside have been given the green light by council planning chiefs.
South Tyneside Council’s planning department has approved an application for land off Calf Close Lane in the Jarrow area.
This included a 20-metre-high “phase 7 MK2 Streetworks pole” with “wrap-around cabinet, 2no. 300mm dishes and associated cabinets and ancillary work.”
A cover letter submitted to council officials said the location had been “identified as being necessary for EE Ltd business developmentand meets its specific technical and operational requirements”.
Another supporting document submitted to council planners stressed that the proposal aimed to “replace an existing installation and is not a new additional installation”.
This was because a telecoms site nearby at Durham Drive is expected to be “decommissioned”, with the new site at Calf Close Lane “urgently required to maintain coverage”.
It was noted that the new mast would “support telecommunications equipment to enhance 4G and 5G connectivity in the area” and that the equipment had been designed to “minimize visual intrusion.”
During a council public consultation exercise on the plans, two objections were received from Calf Close Drive addresses raising concerns about the proposed telecoms mast.
One objector said the site “had been chosen for its location near an electrical distribution tie-in, rather than considering residents’ view of the tower” and that the site would be a “considerable eyesore for residents.”
Another objector raised concerns about the mast’s proximity to elderly people living in bungalows and the mast being an “eyesore for passing traffic and to pedestrians using the nearby Fellgate Metro Station”.
The objector’s statement added there were “plenty of areas nearby that could be utilized further away from housing estates/busy roads” and that the mast would “tower over bungalows with housing in every direction within metres of the mast.”
Developers previously said that the site had been selected “due to its proximity to existing telecoms infrastructure and the need to improve coverage in this part of Jarrow”.
Although alternative sites were considered, planning documents said, the sites were discounted for a number of reasons, including impacts on residential amenity and proposed locations being close to schools.
After considering the planning application, South Tyneside Council’s planning department approved it on June 5, 2025.
Council planners, in a decision report, noted that “eight other sites were considered and discounted for various reasons” and that the chosen site was acceptable.
It was noted that the telecoms equipment “would be located a minimum of approximately 27 metres from properties at Calf Close Walk, Calf Close Drive, Calf Close Lane and Pathside, and their closest points”.
Council planners said “none of the closest properties would directly face the development and any views from these closest properties would be at an oblique angle”.
The council decision report acknowledged the height of the monopole but said it was in a “transient location on a main road” and that “similar height monopoles have been approved under the prior approval process elsewhere within the borough on sites with similar characteristics”.
In addition, it was noted that the height of the development was an “operational requirement” so that antennas can be “raised sufficiently high enough over the surrounding area to rise above obstructions that can block/interrupt signals”, such as buildings and trees.
The council decision report added: “Despite the height of the monopole, it is considered that the proposal including the equipment cabinets and associated development would be of an acceptable appearance, evidence has been submitted demonstrating that the proposed monopole would be the least visually intrusive design possible to enable technologies to operate efficiently due to the required cell search area.
“The equipment cabinets would be small in scale and would also have an acceptable visual impact [and] both the monopole and the equipment cabinets would be an acceptable colour (grey).
“Whilst it cannot be denied that the 20m high monopole would havea visual impact due to its necessary height, as there are other, albeit smaller vertical features in the vicinity (such as street lighting columns and trees), its appearance is not considered to be so materially detrimental to the extent that it would warrant refusal of this prior notification application.”
Those behind the scheme previously noted the site’s location in the “NE32 area of Jarrow” and said the area “currently experiences a shortfall in mobile network coverage and capacity, which impacts both local businesses and residential areas”.
Developers added the development had been “designed to minimize its environmental and visual impact” and would be “positioned so that it is as unobtrusive as possible.”
For more information on the plan and council decision, visit South Tyneside Council’s planning portal website and search reference: 250289