In December 2017 the Government introduced a new Electronic Communications Code bringing about a fundamental change to the law in regard to the siting of telecommunications masts. It had the support of many MPs, including Epsom and Ewell’s. In March 2019 the Department of Culture, Media and Report wrote to all local councils saying that “a key part of [the Code] is making it easier for telecommunications operators to deploy infrastructure.”

That Government push to increase digital connectivity now means that both private land owners and local councils have very limited options to refuse permission for a telecommunications mast to be placed on their land. SCC has virtually no valid reason to refuse permission for masts in our streets, and the Borough Council’s 2006 Policy of excluding, as a principle, the installation of telecommunications masts within parks and recreation grounds is no longer enforceable.

The law already excludes objections to masts on health grounds. In addition where a private landowner or a council does refuse permission to site a mast on their land, a telecommunications company can appeal to the Upper Tribunal which has to weigh “the prejudice caused to the relevant landowner” against the “public benefit likely to result” from the installation. The Upper Tribunal has made it clear that “The level of prejudice [to the landowner] must be very high indeed to outweigh public benefit”.

What this means is that the growing number of large 5G masts and accompanying cabinets is a product of the change in law, and that valid objections to a planning application are very limited and difficult to sustain.

Recent examples have shown that residents and councillors working together and contacting a telecommunications company seeking an alternative and less intrusive location, before a planning application has to be decided, can sometimes lead to a re-think. Importantly, if you are notified of a potential siting of a mast please read the details and respond if you think the planned location needs to be reviewed.

County Councillor Eber Kington