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Application No.: 14/01143/TEL Applicant: Manx Telecom Proposal: Installation of a replacement 12.5m high telecommunications monopole accommodating six antennas within a glass reinforced plastic shroud Site Address: Manx Telecom Base Station Nobles Hospital Strang Douglas Isle Of Man Case Officer : Mr Edmond Riley Photo Taken: 08.10.2014 Site Visit: 08.10.2014 Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation
1.0 THE APPLICATION SITE - 1.1 The application site is a square parcel of land north of the main Nobles Hospital buildings and east of the hospital's gas tanks. The proposed site is on top of an embankment - 2 metres higher than the ground level of access road for the hospital. It is very visible from the access road and from wider afield within the hospital grounds owing to this elevated position.
2.0 PROPOSAL - 2.1 The application is seeking approval for the installation of a replacement 12.5m high telecommunications monopole accommodating six antennae within a plastic shroud. The new monopole would be painted in a light grey colour (RAL 7035), and would sit at exactly the same height as the existing monopole. The antennae are shown within the monopole, which is a "dual stack" monopole and therefore can accommodate 3 no. antennae stacked atop another 3 no. antennae. - 2.2 The application is accompanied by a certificate of compliance with the World Health Organisation's ICNIRP guidelines for public exposure. (ICNIRP is the initialism for the "International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation".)
3.0 DEVELOPMENT PLAN POLICIES - 3.1 The site is within a wider area zoned as "Ballamona Hospital" on the 1991 Planning Circular 6/91 that forms the Braddan Parish District Written Statement in conjunction with the Local Plan maps for that area. Evidently much developmental change has taken place since this Plan was adopted albeit that the zoning for hospital use remains applicable. No policy in the Written Statement is considered material to the determination of the current application. - 3.2 Within the adopted Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2007, the following policies are considered to be relevant in the determination of this application: General Policy 2 and Infrastructure Policy 3.
General Policy 2:
"Development which is in accordance with the land-use zoning and proposals in the appropriate Area Plan and with other policies of this Strategic Plan will normally be permitted, provided that the development:
Infrastructure Policy 3: "A balance must be struck between the need for new, evolving communications systems to satisfy residential and business demand and the impact that the necessary infrastructure will have upon the environment. Measures which may help to achieve a satisfactory balance will include a presumption against visually intrusive masts in sensitive landscapes, the encouragement of mast sharing by different operators, and the removal of redundant infrastructure. Exceptions to this policy would need to demonstrate a strategic national need, which cannot be otherwise secured by mast sharing or alternative locations."
4.0 PLANNING HISTORY - 4.1 Planning approval was granted under delegated authority to PA 05/02108/B for "Installation of 10m monopole internally accommodating 6 antennas, ground based equipment cabin and ancillary development". The existing monopole is, however, 12.5m above ground level such that it would appear the monopole was either installed not in line with the planning approval or subsequent works were undertaken that did not have approval. In either case, the existing structures appear to have been in place for a period exceeding 4 years, which would make them lawful and immune from enforcement action. It is also true that permitted development rights are unaffected by whether or not a structure has previously been unlawful. (As an example, a house constructed prior to the first Planning Act has permitted development rights even if the dwelling itself has not been constructed in line with a previous planning approval.) - 4.2 The above notwithstanding, the issue of whether or not the existing structure is lawful is something of a red herring as permitted development rights apply to the replacement mast, to which this application relates. It has been important and appropriate, however, to set out the Planning status of the existing mast for this site and for the purposes of assessment.
5.0 CONSULTATION / REPRESENTATIONS - 5.1 A site notice was displayed by the Department on 8th October 2014. - 5.2 Consultation letters were sent to the local authority, the Director of Public Health and also to Highway Services within the Department of Infrastructure. - 5.3 Braddan Parish Commissioners offer no objection to the application in an email dated 24th October 2014.
6.0 ASSESSMENT - 6.1 Under the Town and Country Planning (Permitted Development) (Telecommunications) Order 2013, permission is granted for the erection of masts under 15 metres high for telecommunication purposes. - 6.2 Telecommunication companies who wish to exercise this development right have to inform the Department via a prior notification procedure. This notification then gives the Department the opportunity to consider the siting and design of the proposed installation, which is the circumstance here. - 6.3 The Department, having concluded that prior approval to the siting and design is required, must determine whether or not the details submitted are acceptable (leading to an approval) or not acceptable (leading to a refusal). - 6.4 A telecommunications prior notification application such as this one limits the Department's consideration of the proposals to the siting and design of the proposed installation. Infrastructure Policy 3 is perhaps the key policy. - 6.5 In this regard, it must be noted that the principle of the monopole has been established by the approval in 2005, albeit that this has been undermined somewhat by subsequent unlawful works. These subsequent works are, however, and for the reasons outlined in Section 4above, not at issue in the determination of current application. - 6.6 The new pole would be of a broadly identical size and shape - slightly broader at the top, and with no external apparatus attached unlike the existing, but otherwise identical - to the existing. The light grey colour is considered appropriate for the site's backdrop, which is open sky, and relatively prominent location. The siting would not alter. On this basis, it is considered that the siting and design is unobjectionable.
6.6 In terms of health issues associated with a telecommunication mast, the Isle of Man has no specific guidelines in how to deal with such concerns. However, guidance in the United Kingdom (since replaced with less specific guidance) expressly advised that where a proposed telecommunications installation conforms to the recommendation of The Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones ("The Stewart Report") and the guidelines for the public exposure set by The International Commission On Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), then the Local Planning Authority should have no concerns with regard to health and safety issues. - 6.7 The application is accompanied by a certificate of compliance with the World Health Organisation ICNIRP guidelines for public exposure, and the 'Health and Safety at Work Inspectorate' is responsible for the monitoring of telecommunications installations to ensure compliance with the ICNIRP Guidelines. It is also noted that the Director of Public Health raises no objection, albeit he did not make a representation to this application.
7.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION - 7.1 It is concluded there are no sustainable grounds to oppose this proposal and therefore the recommendation is that, since the details submitted seeking prior approval of the siting and appearance of the development are acceptable, the application should be approved. - 7.2 A time limit of five years is set out within the Telecommunications Order 2013 and, as such, no condition to this end is required to be attached to any approval notice that may be forthcoming.
8.0 INTERESTED PERSON STATUS - 8.1 The local authority (Braddan Parish Commissioners) is, by virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2005, Article 6(5)(d) and Paragraph 3(10) of the Town and Country Planning (Permitted Development) (Telecommunications) Order 2013, considered "interested persons", and as such should be afforded interested person status.
Recommendation
Recommended Decision: Permitted
Date of Recommendation:
03.11.2014
Conditions and Notes for Approval / Reasons and Notes for Refusal
C : Conditions for approval
C 1. In the event of the monopole and cabinets erected under this approval become redundant they must be taken down along with all ancillary infrastructure and be removed from the site within
This approval relates to the following plans and information, date-stamped as having been received 1st November 2014: NOBLES HOSPITAL/201 Rev.1; NOBLES HOSPITAL/202 Rev.4; NOBLES HOSPITAL/301 Rev.2; NOBLES HOSPITAL/302 Rev.4, and the Supporting Information document.
I confirm that this decision accords with the appropriate Government Circular delegating functions to Director of Planning and Building Control /Head of Development Management/ Senior Planning Officer.
Decision Made : Permitted Date : ………4/11/14…….. Determining officer (delete as appropriate) Signed :…………………………………….. Chris Balmer Senior Planning Officer Signed :…………………………………….. Sarah Corlett Senior Planning Officer Signed :……………M Gallagher.. Michael Gallagher Director of Planning and Building Control Signed :…………………………………….. Jennifer Chance Head of Development Management
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