Uncertainty Over Burlington Lane 5G Mast Plan
18 metre high monopole thought to contain Huawei equipment
Proposed site of mast. Picture: Google Streetview
|
An application has been submitted to install an 18 metre high 5G mast at the junction of Burlington Lane and Staveley Road in Chiswick.
The submission is being made on behalf of the Three telecoms network and is to determine if prior approval is required. Telecoms operators can be exempted from the need to submit a full planning application if they can demonstrate they need to build necessary infrastructure.
The mast would be situated adjacent to the tennis courts on the opposite side of the road from Chiswick Community School. It is understood that parents of children at the school have been sent a letter informing them of the plan.
It would be around the height of the trees on the same corner.
The identity of the manufacturer of the equipment that would be placed on top of the pole is left blank in the documents submitted with the application but the model numbers shown indicate that they would be provided by Huawei. Three is ultimately owned by a Hong Kong listed company with close mainland Chinese connections which has generally used Huawei equipment for its 5G rollout so far.
Last Tuesday (14 July) the government ordered telecoms firms to strip equipment from the Chinese tech giant out of 5G networks by 2027. The reason for the move was that advice had been given that the security of Huawei's equipment could not be guaranteed. The Chinese government say that the UK has bowed to US pressure not to use their products for trade rather than security reasons.
We have asked Three for a comment on how the government’s ruling might affect their application but have not yet received a response.
The government have advised planning authorities that the scientific evidence does not give any indication of any extra health risk from 5G technology and therefore this would not be considered as valid grounds for an objection.
5G operates across multiple spectrums and therefore requires additional antennas and new equipment cabinets. The signals that are broadcast are more prone to the shadowing effect of adjacent buildings or structures, and also the effect of tree canopies reducing the broadcast range and effectiveness of the antennas. Consequently, the height of the 5G antennas needs to be raised meaning such high masts, dubbed ‘monster masts’ by objectors will become more common. The higher frequencies that 5G will use can provide more bandwidth and thus greater capacity but the signal will not travel as far as those of previous generations. This will mean that more of these masts will need to be built than were needed for previous generations of mobile technology.
To comment on this application email planningcomments@hounslow.gov.uk quoting reference PA/2020/2323.
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |
July 20, 2020
