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St Bridgets Church Bell Tower (Bride Church) Roof Slates Replacement FOR Sure (IOM) Ltd AT St Bridgets Church Bride Isle of Man IM7 4AT Planning Application Supporting Statement DATE: 16th October 2023 PREPARED BY: Alex Taylor Sure IOM Ltd
In 2006/7 Sure Isle of Man Limited (Sure) was awarded an Isle of Man (IOM) Mobile Operators Licence, issued by the Islands Communications Commission (CURA), to provide a mobile phone network and services to the Islands inhabitants and visitors. This service competes with the incumbent operator (Manx Telecom) and allows greater choice and competition for consumers and businesses.
The Sure Mobile Network is made up of multiple sites around the Island, these mobile sites use radio equipment to provide mobile coverage around the Island, this equipment includes mobile panel antennas, radio equipment and also transmission dishes that we use to link our remote sites back to our core network. All our sites then combined provide all Island coverage for our customers.
Sure, will endeavour whenever possible, to install its equipment on existing infrastructure or radio transmitters. The aim is always to minimise the visual impact of providing mobile phone network infrastructure.
Where this is not possible, and it is necessary to introduce additional telecommunications infrastructure, this supporting statement will justify why the infrastructure is required and demonstrate that the best possible design available for the site has been identified, always keeping visual impact and amenity a priority.
It will also help to explain the decisions which led to the specific location being chosen and will outline which alternatives were considered and discounted.
A variety of supporting information may be included with each application but ultimately Sures aim is to minimise the number of new structures and reduce the visual impact of the network, whilst providing sufficient signal strength to provide coverage for customers to take advantage of a range of Sures services.
For the avoidance of doubt: a mobile site, as referred to in this document, is a combination of equipment including cabinets, antennas, and structures, required to facilitate the operation of a mobile phone network.
Sure are proposing replacing slates on the bell tower roof with GRP (Glass Reinforced Plastic/Fibreglass) panels that will be colour matched to the existing slates.
The new proposed site is at St Bridgets (Bride Church) located in Bride Village.
The proposed development is to achieve greater Sure mobile network coverage for the residents of Bride, the location is central to the village and the height of the bell tower will allow for a larger coverage footprint.
The reason why Sure would like to replace the tiles is to allow us to install mobile telecoms equipment into the roof space of the bell tower, as standard slates are not RF (Radio Frequency) compatible, whereas the GRP panels are, this means that the new proposed tiles will not cause interferance for the radio waves which in turn will make the mobile site more effective at providing mobile coverage in the areas surrounding the chuch.
We believe that the visual impact of the proposed new development will be minimal, we are proposing replacing roof tiles on each side of the bell tower roof with GRP tiles, these will be designed to match the existing tiles on the bell tower in colour and shape/size.
All Sure mobile equipment will be located within the tower so there will be no external visibility of this kit.
The current Sure mobile site that covers the area of Bride is located on the Manx Telecom mast at Ballaskilley Farm, Lhen Road, Bride. The current mobile site is not providing the area with the level of coverage we would hope for, this is due to the distance the site is away from Bride village and also the landscape that surrounds the village, this is impacting the signal levels in the village, in some parts of the village it is almost unusable.
The proposed location of Bride Church would provide a central location within the village and also provide the height required for the mobile site to provide strong mobile coverage for the area.
Coverage maps have been included on the next page to demonstrate the estimated improvements to the area if we go ahead with the proposed development, these improvements will greatly improve the customer experience in the area.
The associated drawings for this application have included in the proposed design the next generation of mobile RAN equipment that we would be installing at the site, this includes the latest antenna equipment, along with the latest radio equipment such as RRH/RRUs.
These improvements directly support the Isle of Man Governments ‘Island Plan’ which has a vision of a digitally connected Island, that supports a tech enabled and future ready jurisdiction, Crosby will benefit from greater network capacity and service due to these improvements to the Sure mobile site.
This site has been designed in accordance with the current mainland UK Cellular operator’s guidance for both Occupational and Public ICNIRP compliance. Our design team is satisfied that this site design complies with the above guidelines and therefore a signed ICNIRP certificate is enclosed with this application.
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.”
Sure IOM Ltd believes the proposed installation complies with the island’s policies and strategies above.
To summarise, we consider that this application will offer the best available solution to the enhancement of mobile service on the Sure network in the area of Bride village, the proposed design will have a minimal visual impact in the area as compared to a new structure in the surrounding areas.
The design proposed represents both the optimum planning, environmental and technical solutions in this instance. As such, we believe the development as proposed is in accordance with planning guidance as defined above.
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