Proposed 20m town centre phone mast refused

A telecoms infrastructure firm has been told it must rethink plans for a 20m-high (66ft) town centre phone mast after the proposal was refused.

The scheme in Keighley town centre was rejected by Bradford Council, with concerns the mast – roughly the height of five double-decker buses stacked on top of each other – would clash with the surrounding environment.

The application argued a central location was needed to ensure the town centre had a good 5G signal.

Refusing the scheme, council planners said the proposal would create a "visually prominent and intrusive feature within the conservation area".

The applicant, Mobile Broadband Network Ltd (MBNL), is looking to replace telecoms equipment currently located on the Devonshire House office building.

A new location is needed due to planned works to the roof.

It is the second time this year MBNL has seen plans for a site in the town turned down.

An earlier proposal for the former Gala Bingo building, just off Lord Street, was also rejected after planners said the scheme "would harm a key unlisted building in the conservation area".

The latest application hoped to build on land at the edge of the former Keighley College site, a vacant plot earmarked for a future multimillion-pound health hub.

Council conservation officers raised concerns about the scale and appearance of the development in a heritage setting, where modern infrastructure is subject to stricter scrutiny, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Refusing the mast, Bradford Council planning officers said: "A substantial amount of apparatus is proposed, which by its nature will have a modern, stark, utilitarian appearance, and the height of the monopole would also result in a visually prominent and intrusive feature."

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