Bolton: New mast plan discussed near Breighmet shops parade

The new pole has been proposed for New Lane, at Top o’ th’ Brow in Breightmet, at had at first provoked concerns about accessibility to nearby shops.

But Cllr Rob Morrisey and his colleague Cllr Sean Fielding, who represent the area on the council, say they have met with developers to raise these worries.

Cllr Morrisey said: “Sean and I were worried that the cabinets that are installed with the mast would obstruct the footway at the shops and you couldn’t tell exactly where they were proposed to be from the technical drawings.

Cllr Rob Morrisey (Image: Public)

“There is a similar mast round the corner on Winchester Way where cabinets have been installed and take up a lot of the pavement.

“We asked for a meeting so we could be crystal clear, and, if needed, ask for changes before it was too late.”

The councillors say that looked at the planning documents and sought further details when meeting with Clarke Telecom and CK Hutchinson 3G Ltd.

The mast has been proposed in Breightmet (Image: Public)

Cllr Morrisey said: “After a brief walk through of the drawings we were reassured that the apparatus won’t block the footway for pedestrians and those in wheelchairs or on mobility scooters.

“The positioning of the cabinets means the pavement is no narrower than 2m at any point, which is far in excess of the width required by the Disability Discrimination Act.”

Previous cases of masts being installed have proved controversial throughout Bolton, but in Breighmet’s case the representatives hope that concerns can be allayed.

The plans were put before Bolton Council (Image: CK Hutchinson 3G Ltd)

Cllr Fielding said: “It’s no secret that telecoms installations have been contentious across Bolton.

“Me and Rob have had contact from residents who are frustrated by the works being undertaken by IX wireless and we wanted to try and head this one off before it became a problem.

“We are grateful that Clarke Telecom and CK Hutchinson 3G Ltd honoured our request for a meeting and explained things.”

The developers have said they expect this to improve connectivity in the borough.

A statement said: “As the world depends more and more on mobile connectivity and we are consuming more data, existing networks are becoming congested.

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“This is particularly the case when there are lots of people in the same place, at the same time, trying to access online services.

“5G has the capacity to handle this demand and has the unique ability to ‘splice’ the network.

"This gives councils, businesses and the emergency services the ability to have their own dedicated, reliable part of the 5G network.”

The plans were first put before the council on Tuesday, May 9 this year with neighbourhood consultations set to close this week.

The authority is then set to make a decision by Tuesday, July 4.