Telefonica mast in West Overton – application rejected by Wiltshire Council

Telefonica have had their application to site an O2 / Vodafone mobile mast behind the Bell public house in West Overton turned down by Wiltshire Council.

The Council decided that the mast “would represent a highly visible, vertical intrusion in the landscape of the Avebury World Heritage Site….”  

The refusal notice added that the mast “would have a harmful impact on the setting of both the Sanctuary and Overton Hill barrow cemetery; both important attributes of Outstanding Value for which the World Heritage Site was placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.”  

Telefonica’s application was discussed at length during Monday’s (29 June) Fyfield & West Overton Parish Council Planning Meeting, where a decision was reached to object on the grounds of proposed location and (lack of) effective coverage that the mast would provide for the Parish’s three villages – East Kennett, West Overton and Lockeridge.

Parish Councillor Nick Fisk commnented:  “We objected to the siting of the mast for two principal reasons. Firstly, given the height, the appearance of a large mast in the valley would not have safeguarded the appearance of the surrounding countryside and in particular the Avebury World Heritage Site. Secondly we believe that the siting of the mast in one of the lowest parts of the Kennet Valley would have meant almost no coverage for Lockeridge and very little coverage for East Kennett. However, we welcome the opportunity to explore alternative sites with the telecommunication companies as we are keen on improving mobile coverage for all our communities”.

Drivers on the A4 will have to wait a bit longer before being able to enjoy mobile phone use whilst driving along this stretch of the road.  A comment made during Monday’s meeting noted that were this application to proceed, the many residents with no coverage at present, and for whom this mast would make little difference would be consigned to zero coverage in perpetuity as the prime coverage objective would be delivered – excellent reception along this stretch of the A4 corridor.