Queen Victoria (R) and part of Warrior Square Conservation Area
‘We are not amused’: more 5G masts and boxes proposed
Last summer some 5G telecommunications masts and boxes were proposed in the borough, though some were refused. One has disfigured the Oval in Bohemia Road ever since. This summer there are more applications, for the Warrior Square Conservation Area again, and near Alexandra Park. Bernard McGinley reports.
In 2022 there was a planning application for a 5G 18-metre mast (‘street pole’) at the side of the front of Warrior Square, and big boxes (‘cabinets’) on the pavement. HS/TL/22/00528 was turned down because:
1. The proposed development, by reason of its siting and appearance, is considered to result in an incongruous form of development which would not harmonise with the period architecture, street furniture and gardens; and, would be an overly dominant feature in the conservation area streetscape, which would fail to sympathetically integrate within the historic environment, such that the proposal would be detrimental to the visual amenities of the surrounding area, and fail to preserve and enhance to [sic] the character and appearance of the conservation area. . . .
2. It is not considered that any proposed benefits from the development outweigh the identified ‘less than substantial harm’ in such a manner that the identified harm could not be mitigated by siting the development elsewhere, given that the reasons and justification for siting are not considered sufficient to justify the siting or harm. . . .
Now there’s another application, this time for the front of the square, the pole and three boxes beside the statue of Queen Victoria (just to her right), on which officers have yet to make their decision. HS/TL/23/00438 is for
Proposed 5G telecommunications installation: Proposed 15m H3G street pole and additional equipment cabinets. | Pavement fronting Warrior Square Gardens, Warrior Square, St Leonards-on-sea
Note the five sections of straight fencing between the statue and curved path, a reality not reproduced in the applicant’s drawing below.
Objection
The HBC Conservation Officer has objected to the new Warrior Square proposal for a variety of reasons, finding:
The scale of the pole, and the massing of the equipment, fails to reflect the wide clutter free pavements, sensitively placed public realm furniture, open space, and the architecturally designed street lighting.
The proposed pole is 15 metres (nearly 50 feet) high rather than the 18 metres (nearly 60 feet) in 2022, but no less incongruous. The drawings supporting the application blank out all background details apart from the railings, whose change of direction to go around the statue is omitted, as indeed is the statue itself. This is a wildly inaccurate or false representation therefore.
The case file’s ‘Proposed Elevation’ drawing shows ten sections of straight fencing
Park View too
There’s another 15-metre pole proposed for Park View (HS/TL/23/00446) near Alexandra Park:
Proposed 5G telecommunications installation: Proposed 15.0m Phase 8. Monopole and associated ancillary works. | Pavement At Junction Of Park View And Parkstone Road, Hastings)
The view is widespread that the proposals are contrary to Policy EN1 of the Hastings Local Plan, and also Policies DM1, DM2 and HN1 of the Development Management Plan (2015), and paragraph 115 of the National Planning Policy Framework.
Small print
In March 2022 the government announced plans to amend the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015, in effect facilitating the rollout of 5G by reducing constraints on the process. The use of 5G masts near public roads improves mobile coverage for road users, and is important for the driverless car revolution.
Despite this easing, telecoms operators still require planning permission from the local planning authority for new infrastructure. A House of Commons Library briefing paper (Number CBP 9156, of December 2022) says more.
Queen Victoria (Grade 2 Listed) is front and central to the Warrior Square Conservation Area, and Park View is beside Alexandra Park, a Grade 2* Listed Historic Park and Garden. What’s different between last summer and this summer remains unclear.
Representations on siting and appearance (quoting case reference(s)) can be made by Wednesday 12 July 2023 (14th for the Park View case) to Hastings Borough Council at:
Queen Victoria’s plinth
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Whilst we need 5G the location of Warrior Square is not on keeping with the area and would spoil the look of the area. The number of cabinets within 10 metres of a road junction is however of greater concern as the Highway Code clearly states vehicles must not be parked within 10 metres of a road junction. There is no reason why 5G could not be installed on the top of Marine Court or other suitable sites.
Comment by Alan Tooke I Eng MIET — Friday, Jul 7, 2023 @ 07:56
It’s appalling that the 5G people could think that such ugly modern structures could be so carelessly sited close to a grade II statue and dominating a large square in a conservation area.
This application should at least be going to a full planning committee meeting, it should have been advertised in the local press, and the time limit for objections should be lengthened accordingly.
A better solution would be to site the ‘business part’, which is presumably at the top of the 15m pole, at the top of a pre-existing modern lamp-post on the seafront, south of the A259, likewise the cabinets, whose dimensions are not clear in the sketchy plans submitted by the applicant. ‘Driverless’ technology can never be used in a busy, built-up area; it is only suitable for long stretches of hazard-free straight road, so nowhere for miles around this town.
Comment by Heather Grief — Thursday, Jul 6, 2023 @ 14:00
Given the ease of producing CGI images, why does the Planning Department not insist on such to show the true context of these proposals? Inaccurate drawings purporting to show a street scene without any real life context are meaningless.
Comment by Hastings Urban Design Group — Thursday, Jul 6, 2023 @ 10:25
St. Leonards needs 5G technology, but the conservation area must be protected, and that includes the statue.
Find a better place.
Comment by JC Hart — Thursday, Jul 6, 2023 @ 09:30
Here we go again! I think the Hastings public, through their representatives HBC, should ask for a full explanation why these things cannot go on the roofs of nearby tall buildings. Surely the planning department can at least ask for that?
Comment by ken davis — Thursday, Jul 6, 2023 @ 08:58