Parish Council objects to Mast Application

Gawsworth Parish Council has lodged strong objections with Cheshire East Council on the proposed mast at Penningtons Lane. Writing to the planning officer, the Parish Council has said:

“The proposed site on Penningtons Lane/Congleton Road is a small area of amenity open space which comprises a bus stop, postbox, parish council noticeboard and planting area. It is the only open space for the community of this part of Gawsworth and softens the entry to Macclesfield. The surrounding built up area is primarily bungalows. As demonstrated by the significant number of objections from nearby properties, the community of Gawsworth is very much in opposition to the proposed siting of this mast.

Policy SE4 of the local plan states that development should conserve the landscape character and the explanatory to this policy requires development to integrate into its setting. The proposed mast and the three large utility boxes will significantly detract from the amenity and character of the area in contravention of this policy. Penningtons Lane is not a dense urban environment and the installation of the mast would constitute urbanisation.

The photographs included with the application do not show a view of the mast and boxes as one would really see it from Congleton Road, which is the most visually intrusive. The images below show a before and after which demonstrate the cluttering and detriment the mast and boxes have on the area and the view that the residents of this area would be confronted with daily as they return home via Pennington’s Lane. The council considers this will have a severely detrimental impact on residents’ sense of place. Furthermore, they demonstrate that the proposal fails to assimilate with the surrounding low built environment which is characterised with few telegraph poles and streetlights.

These are both contrary to paragraph 127 of the National Planning Policy Framework which requires Cheshire East Council to make decisions which maintain a strong sense of place and attractive, welcoming places to live.

The council is aware that in previous correspondence between the application and Cheshire East Council’s highways department, that the highways department objected to the siting of a mast in a 40mph zone. The proposed location is within a 40mph zone and the council questions why the Highways response does not address this and requests that the question of safety noting it is a 40mph zone is specifically put to them. The council is also concerned that the location of the boxes, on the frontage of the green could reduce visibility to/from the Penningtons Lane junction, to the detriment of highway safety.

The council is aware of other suitable locations for a mast (which the applicant has confirmed could be viable) which would not result in such a detrimental effect on the character of an existing residential area and which present a greater opportunity for the equipment to assimilate into the environment.

The community of Gawsworth implores you refuse this application on the grounds of the detrimental impact this development would have on a community green.”