Kettering neighbours ecstatic as they win fight against 'horrendous' 15m-high 5G mast plan

Neighbours on a Kettering housing estate say they are ecstatic after plans for an ‘eyesore’ 5G mast just yards from their homes were rejected.

CK Hutchison Networks (UK) Limited, the owners of Three, wanted to install the 15m-high pole and equipment cabinets on the corner of St John’s Road and St Luke’s Close.

The mast would have been right outside Paula Grannon’s window and would have dwarfed her house, with many horrified Ise Lodge residents lodging objections.

But North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) has refused to grant planning permission – leaving nearby homeowners delighted.

Paula said: "We are ecstatic that it's been refused. It was a lot of stress but the community really pulled together."

The mast would have been about 3m from a tall window which was installed when Paula’s family extended their home.

They feared it would have decreased the value of the house and said there would have been ‘no getting away’ from the hum of the equipment.

Paula said: "It would have felt like we were imprisoned – it would have shadowed the house and garden and the constant noise would have driven me mad.

"Would they want it outside their house?"

CK Hutchison had originally planned to install the 5G mast on the opposite corner of St John’s Road and St Luke’s Close, just yards away from Christopher Deane-Hall’s patio.

He spoke to neighbours and galvanised them into lodging objections, raising fears about health risks and the impact it would have on the area. One neighbour branded the planned mast an ‘eyesore’.

Christopher, 71, said: "It came as a complete surprise and something of a shock. It would have been horrendous.

"To have that right outside your house would ruin the whole of the street scene of the area."

CK Hutchison later withdrew their first plan and instead chose to try and install the mast on the opposite grass verge, outside neighbour Paula’s home.

Christopher was also ecstatic that the second plan was refused by NNC.

He said: "I'm absolutely delighted. On a rating of one to 10 it's an 11."

In their refusal decision notice, NNC said the proposed mast would have resulted in ‘unacceptable harm’ to the area.

They said: “The mast and associated cabinets are out of scale for the small grass verge in which they are proposed to be located, resulting in an incongruous and obtrusive feature in the street scene which does not respond to the character and form of the surrounding development.

"This results in unacceptable harm to the character and appearance of the area.”

A Three spokesperson said: “5G rollout is vital for residents and businesses of Kettering. We want to offer the community a reliable network experience and our planners determined that this site was required to deliver it.

"While we try to keep mast sites as unobtrusive as possible, they do need to be situated near to where people will be using the service and, in many cases, in precise locations to ensure the widest breadth of coverage.

"We will review the reasons for refusal carefully and consider our options.”