The latest planned 5G phone mast for Hereford is to go up outside a well-known pub.

CK Hutchison Networks (UK), which operates the Three phone network, has applied to put up a 15-metre tall mast and cabinets beside the Rose & Crown on Ledbury Road, Eign Hill.

Plans with the application appear to show the mast as two metres higher than the pub building.

The site was not selected from Herefordshire Council’s mast register, as “it was felt that the industry database was a more up to date source of information”, the application says. However, the company did make “pre-application contact” with the council in December.

“There is an acute need for a new base station to provide effective service coverage, and in this case the height of the proposed street pole is the minimum required to bring the benefits of 5G to this area,” its application says.

The mast “will assimilate well into the immediate street scene and not be detrimental”, it claims.

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Six other candidate sites had been considered in the area, but were found to be “unviable” or had unsuitable pavements, it adds.

The company is attempting to roll out 5G coverage across Hereford and elsewhere in the county. But several previous efforts to gain permission for the masts, which must be taller and more closely spaced than previous phone masts, have been unsuccessful.

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A Herefordshire Council spokesperson said of these bids: “The council recognises the significant economic and social benefits associated with improved connectivity for our communities, but also gives significant weight to the visual impact associated with structures which can range from around 15-20 metres in height and have recently been proposed in sensitive historic locations and suburban residential areas.

“Applicants have the right of appeal if they are unhappy with the outcome of an application, and we welcome pre-application engagement.”

Comments on this latest application, numbered 230033, can be made until March 10.

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