St Leonards proposals to place 15m-high 5G mast near to Queen Victoria statue branded 'ghastly'

CK Hutchison Networks (UK) Limited is seeking planning permission from Hastings Borough Council to place the 15m H3G street pole and additional equipment cabinets on the pavement fronting Warrior Square Gardens.

However, objectors have criticised the proposals, describing the proposed mast as an ‘eyesore’ and ghastly’.

Residents aired their views on the council’s planning portal.

Nicola Helgesen said: “The location is completely inappropriate and is adjacent to a Grade II listed monument. This popular highly-valued asset for St Leonards must be protected form eyesores like this.”

Rachel Brain said: “I strongly object to the proposal for this mast. It is in the heart of a conservation area and more insensitively placed than the last proposal. Close to the statue of Queen Victoria and an intrusion for all who live in the square, it would fundamentally contravene conservation guidelines.”

Pawel Komor said: “This is a beautiful and historic square which I do not wish to be defaced by modern technology. Why here? Surely there are several alternative placed to consider placing this, if it is desperately needed.”

Andrew Rees said: “It is a completely inappropriate location to site a monopole in Warrior Square, which is a conversation area with Victorian architecture and a renowned statue of Queen Victoria. It is widely used by locals and visited by tourists. The presence of the mast would be unsightly, out of keeping and detrimental to the use and enjoyment of the square.”

Jeannie Van der Weyden said: “Warrior Square is historic and attractive. This setting and the surrounding historical buildings should be preserved not ruined by a ghastly, incongruous and unsightly mast.”

Claire Noble said: “This has the potential to impact property value within the area, not only due to the controversial nature of these masts, but because this is an area known for its scenic views of both the square itself, the Queen Victoria statue, which attracts lots of tourists, and the sea.“If this is given planning permission, i will absolutely be raising this with the wider community within my online group which currently holds over 3K local members and I will do my utmost to fight the plans.”

A statement on behalf of CK Hutchison Networks (UK) Limited said: “CK Hutchison Networks (UK) Limited) is committed to providing improved network coverage and capacity, most notably in relation to 5G services.

“In these unprecedented times of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is recognised that high-speed mobile connectivity is the lifeblood of a community; facilitating educational benefits, providing access to vital services, improving communications with the associated commercial benefits for local businesses, enabling ecommerce and facilitating the increased need and demand for working from home, as well as enjoying access to social, media and gaming for leisure time activities.

“There is an acute need for a new base station to provide effective service coverage and in this case, the height of the proposed street pole is the minimum required to bring the benefits of 5G to this area.

“The design of the proposed antenna and ground-based cabinets is considered to be the least visually intrusive option available. Whilst it is accepted that there will be a localised visual increase through the installation of additional apparatus, it is considered that this will not overly detract from the character of the existing streetscape.”