Phone mast plans withdrawn for Sunderland social club site after objections

Sunderland City Council’s planning department received an application in November 2022 for the Silksworth Comrades Club site in the Silksworth ward.

The plans from applicant Radius BTS Ltd included a bid to replace existing roof-mounted masts at the site with a 25-metre-high monopole mast within the social club’s grounds.

According to a statement submitted to council officials on behalf of the applicant, existing equipment needed to be removed and relocated due to the “structural integrity” of the social club’s roof.

The supporting statement added the new mast would host equipment for major UK mobile network operators, with an aim of improving mobile and wireless connectivity.

Applicants added the proposed mast was the “lowest height in which the operators can continue to provide the required level of coverage to the target area”.

Around one month after the planning application was submitted, Sunderland City Council confirmed it had been withdrawn.

A decision report published by the local authority on December 1, 2022, said the applicant had “requested the withdrawal of the application due to feedback from the local community”.

The move follows opposition from members of the public, with around 24 public objections received during council consultation.

Around half of the objections came from addresses on adjacent street Athol Grove and were posted on Sunderland City Council’s online planning portal.

Concerns raised from objectors, which included other nearby streets, ranged from visual impacts and health fears to noise impacts and the mast’s close proximity to residential properties.

One Athol Grove resident described the proposed mast as an “unwanted visual eyesore” while another described it as a “monstrosity” which would affect property values.

The neighbour said: “Has anyone taken into consideration the impact on residents’ mental health and wellbeing, when they open their curtains on a morning and all they see is a steel tower that is the equivalent of the Angel of the North towering over your property or surrounding gardens and free space of residents.

“No, I don’t think they have.”

Another local resident added: “The intended erection is double the height of Silksworth Comrades Club, which would enhance the risk to the surrounding properties, residents and vehicles should the mast become faulty or damaged.”

A supporting document, submitted on behalf of the applicant, said the current roof-mounted masts already “cause a degree of visual impact to this area of Silksworth”.

It was also argued that the “degree of visual impact” from the new proposals would be “kept to a minimum and there [would] be no significant impact on nearby sensitive receptors including residents”.

It is understood that Silksworth ward councillor, Phil Tye, offered to work with those behind the planning application to source an alternative site for the telecommunications mast.

Cllr Tye, in a statement on Sunderland Labour’s website, said: “After engaging with those directly impacted by the proposals, I sat down with the developer and offered to work closely with them on refining their plans, which I have to say, they’ve been really receptive to.

“As a community, there’s no hiding from the fact that 5G is essential to ensuring our businesses and residents can remain connected.

“But this can’t be at the expense of our quality of life and I’m hopeful that, by working with – as opposed to against – the developer, we can secure the best possible outcome for everybody.”

For more information on the planning application, visit Sunderland City Council’s online planning portal and search reference: 22/02405/TEX