Section 254 and why mast was not subject of a planning application
The telecommunications mast erected at the entrance to Blackcastle Demense last week was not subject of a planning application and instead permission was granted by way of section 254 licence application.
The application was made to Meath County Council by Shared Access Ltd and a three-year licence was granted by the local authority in March.
Section 254 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 stipulates that a licence is required from a planning authority “to place on, under, over or along a public road the following items or equipment: a vending machine a a town or landscape map for indicating directions or places, a fence, scaffold or hoarding, an advertisement structure, a cable, wire or pipeline, over ground electronic communications infrastructure and any associated physical infrastructure such as a telephone pole or cabinet, a telephone kiosk or pedestal, or any other appliance, apparatus or structure specified in regulations made by the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government or by an Act of the Oireachtas that requires a licence”.
There is no requirement for public consultation and no opportunity to make submissions or lodge objections to such licence applications. They only avenue open is afterwards, when an appeal can be lodged to An Coimisiún Pleanála.
This section of the act was intended to cover items such as street furniture, maps, signage, and cables and there is a view that this section is being exploited to install tall telecommunications structures. A number of telecommuncation masts were recently erected in Galway prompting an angry reaction from local residents and there have been calls for the legislation to be amended to change the planning rules around such structures so that consultation is required.
There is no reference to a maximum height for a mast or structure to fall under this particular section.
Those who wish to lodge an appeal to an Coimisiún Pleanála can do so but must also pay a €220 appeal fee.