Mast it be put there? Navan residents launch aerial battle to remove telecoms tower

There has been a furious reaction from residents in a number of estates on the Slane Road in Navan to the installation of an 18m telecommunications mast close to their homes last Tuesday without any prior knowledge or consultation.

The mast is located on a grass verge area at entrance to Blackcastle Demense estate and in close proximity to a number of other estates including Fitzherbert Court, Bru na hAbhainn, St Ercs Villas, Blackcastle and Boyne Valley Estate.

Residents reacted with shock and disbelief that the mast would be permitted to be erected in a residential area and without any consultation or chance to object.

The mast was granted permission by way of a section 254 licence application, granted by Meath County Council. This process does not require public consultation or allow for objections to be made and the first the residents knew about the proposed mast was when it was erected last Tuesday. Residents looked on in horror as they realised the 18m mast was being put at the entrance to Blackcastle Demense and have vowed to fight it.

They are concerned about the visual impact, the possible devaluation of property and they also argue that it is potentially a distraction to motorists as they approach the town due to its height and scale. A number of residents have also claimed that their Saorview TV signals have been lost since the mast was erected.

The development, licenced by Meath County Council for three years, consists of an 18m telecommunications pole measuring 406mm in diameter situated on a concrete plinth, with six antennas fixed to the upper section of the pole, a 0.3m transmission dish attached to the pole at a height of 12.7m and GPS antenna at the same height, as well as a single bay cabinet on proposed concrete foundation, a RFE split door cabinet and remote radio units fixed to the pole at various heights.

The licence was granted to Shared Access Ltd on 26th March. The process only allows for appeals after the licence has been granted and now the only avenue open to residents is to hope than an appeal to An Coimisiún Pleanala is successful, a process that will take several months.

Fergus Harmon, chair of Blackcastle Demense Residents Association said: “We're severely disgruntled about it and we will be doing everything in our power to get it removed. There was no chance to give any feedback beforehand, so it's only afterwards that you can appeal it, when it's already there.

“It is completely unsuitable for a residential area. It is an eyesore, and even outside of the attractiveness of it, or the lack of attractiveness of it, if I was selling a house in Blackcastle Demense now, would it affect the value? It's the first thing people see coming from Slane coming into Navan as well. I can't understand why they put it where they put it. There are plenty of open areas it could have been put,” he said.

Another Blackcastle Demense resident, Gary Clynch also feels that it should have been erected a couple of hundreds yards out the road away from residential estates.

He commented that the Meath County Development Plan says these structure should only be put into residential areas as a last resort when all other avenues have been explored and queried what evidence is there is that the applicant looked at other options first. He feels this location was pursued for convenience as it is in proximity to its other telecoms infrastructure.

“The visual impact is the biggest issue,” said Gary. “It dominates the entrance to the estate. There isn't a more in-your-face thing in the whole of county Meath than this thing. I have never seen anything that is of the scale and imposition of this thing into the environment, into the streetscape, into the visual. At a time when they are spending a lot of money making the town look well. Flower Hill has been painted from top to bottom and now as you come into Navan from Slane or Drogheda you are welcomed by this thing in your face.”

He feels Meath County Council did not fully evaluate the visual impact.

“This company has behaved perfectly legally. They haven't done anything illegal, but Meath County Council, have made a mess of the evaluation of the visual impact”

He also feels that the mast is a distraction for drivers and pointed out that it located within 100m of a bus stop, a pedestrian crossing and two junctions on the N51.

The planner in her report had no objection to the design of the location, considered that the development was acceptable on the subject site and considered the visual impact to be “minor”.

“Having considered the location, along with the slender nature of the pole and the neutral sky grey colour, the visual impact on the surrounding area is considered to be minor. The structure reads as part of the typical street furniture and does not create an incongruous insertion into the streetscape,” the report stated.

The planner did not consider that there would be any harmful traffic issues as a result of the mast’s installation.

What has particularly infuriated residents is that there was no public consultation and no opportunity to object before the mast went up.

Fiitzherbert court resident Colm McKenna told the Meath Chronicle he was “stunned” to see it go so quickly “without anyone knowing about it or being informed about it.”