Council turns down bid for 27-metre telecom mast in Glasson

A planning application for a 27-metre telecommunications mast in Glasson, which had been opposed by many local residents, was refused permission by Westmeath County Council this week.

The bid to obtain approval for the mast was lodged by Dublin-based On Tower Ireland Limited in May.

It sought permission to install the structure at Pearsonsbrook, about a mile from Glasson village, on a site situated just off a rural road and walkway known locally as 'The Sweep'.

A letter of support from the telecommunications giant Three was submitted as part of the planning application, along with a letter of consent from the landowner.

However, local residents subsequently organised two meetings in opposition to the mast application, and seventeen objections were made to the council last month on behalf of people with connections to the local area.

One of these included a petition with 221 names of "members of the local community who strongly oppose the development".

In its planning decision, published this week, Westmeath County Council said it was refusing permission for the development on three grounds.

The first of these was that the site of the proposed mast was designated as a High Amenity Area and that the "height, scale and location" of the 27-metre structure would be "visually incongruous" and would "detract" from the Lough Ree area of high amenity.

The council also said the mast would be "unduly prominent" within a "visually sensitive rural landscape" and that it would "interfere with the established appearance and character of views over the surrounding countryside".

The second reason given by the council for the planning refusal was that On Tower Ireland Limited had failed to show that "legal consent (had) been obtained and that adequate sightlines are available from the access laneway at the junction onto the L-1437" local road.

Thirdly, the council stated that the proposed mast was in proximity to a ringfort which was a designated and recorded monument.

The local authority concluded that proposed mast "would injure or interfere with the historic remains and setting" of the ringfort, "which is subject to statutory protection in the Record of Monuments and Places".

One of the local residents who was involved in the campaign of opposition to the mast, Mark Doherty, said there was a sense of relief among the community when news of the planning decision came through yesterday (Thursday).

"We are delighted. We're still not over the line yet, because there's always the possibility of the decision being appealed. But I'd like to hope that the decision made by the council would stand up if that happens," he said.

He added that there had been a lot of time and effort put in by locals in opposition to the project, by communicating the details of it with others and by erecting signage locally.

"We got the result that we were hoping for, and the hard work of the people was rewarded with a good outcome," he commented.