A Mid Wales Assembly Member, who has been at the forefront of the campaign to improve mobile coverage in Mid Wales, has called on the Welsh Government to review its planning framework to facilitate the rollout of mobile infrastructure.
This week (Tuesday 8th December) Russell George, Assembly Member for Montgomeryshire, raised the recent deterioration in Mid Wales mobile coverage with the First Minister, Carwyn Jones.
At a recent community meeting in Newtown, hosted by Mr George, all mobile network operators expressed the view that if the necessary mobile infrastructure is to be rolled out across rural areas of Mid Wales to improve mobile coverage, they must be permitted to do so by local planning authorities, subject to local agreement.
After questioning the First Minister, Mr George said:
“Hundreds of residents have got in touch with me in recent months to complain about the poor mobile coverage in Montgomeryshire so I was pleased to be able to raise this important issue with the First Minister.
“Mobile operators have informed me that one of the most significant barriers to investment in mobile infrastructure in Mid Wales are restrictive planning policies.
“Where there is demand and local agreement from the community, planning policies should be sufficiently flexible to allow mobile infrastructure to be rolled out.
“I have called on the First Minister to examine whether changes to the planning framework are required to increase permitted development to a height of 25m and allow a 5m increase in mast height in non-protected areas, two changes which mobile operators say will result in a significant improvement in mobile coverage.
“I’m pleased that the First Minister agreed to look at the matter and I will now look to facilitate a meeting between the Welsh Government and the mobile operators in an effort to make much-needed improvements to mobile coverage in Mid Wales.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors
Transcript – Record of Proceedings from the National Assembly for Wales – Tuesday 8th December 2015
First Minister’s Questions
Russell George
First Minister, in recent months there has been some deterioration in mobile coverage in my Montgomeryshire constituency. In a recent meeting, I met with the four mobile operators and they said that one of the most significant barriers to investment in mobile infrastructure in Wales is restrictive planning policies. Now, they all suggested that changes to the planning framework are required to increase permitted development to a height of 25m, and to allow a 5m increase in mast height in non-protected areas. Is this something that you would be willing to discuss with colleagues and consider, and bring forward changes to the planning framework?
14:09
The First Minister
It’s certainly not an issue that’s been raised with me in terms of masts. I’ve certainly had experience of people objecting to masts being put in place, but I’m not aware of operators having problems with the general permitted development order and the placing of masts around Wales. If there’s evidence of that, of course, we’d be prepared to look at it.