Telecommunications Development
Guidance Notes
Introduction
More than two thirds of the UK population own a mobile phone. Mobile phones
are properly called ‘cell phones’ and they operate by sending signals
from one cell to another. To enable them to work cell phones require a network
of transmitters and receivers, which necessitates the installation of base stations
around the country, particularly within built up areas where the use of the mobile
phone and the volume of calls are highest.
The telecommunications sector is a vital part of the UK economy and is an
industry that is innovating and developing rapidly. The Government’s policy
is to facilitate the growth of new and existing telecommunications systems whilst
keeping the environmental impact to a minimum.
Some installations, due to their size, location, design or number of antennae
they support, can have significant visual impacts on local environments or sensitive
locations. There is also concern from the general public about possible
adverse effects of telecommunications apparatus on health.
With the advent of new technology and the so-called third generation of mobile
phones, more base stations will be required and it is the Council’s role
to ensure that these are installed only in appropriate locations.
This guidance sets out Bexley Council’s approach and procedures regarding
proposals for new telecommunications development.
Who are the operators?
The Operators or ‘Code-Systems Operators’ are those companies
which have been granted a licence by the Government to operate a telecommunications
network. Generally these are mobile phone companies with whom you will
be familiar and the current Operators consist of:
- O2
- Orange
- T-Mobile
- Vodafone
- 3
- Airwave (tasked with establishing the mobile network for the Police Service)
The Operators have introduced their ten best practice commitments to help
address concerns relating to the development of base stations. Launched in 2001,
the aim of the Ten Commitments is to ensure transparency in building mobile phone
networks, to provide more information to the public and local planners and to
boost the community's role in the siting of radio base stations. The commitments
are:
- To develop, with other stakeholders, clear standards and procedures to deliver
significantly improved consultation with local communities.
- To participate in obligatory pre-rollout and pre-application consultation
with local planning authorities.
- To publish clear, transparent and accountable criteria and cross-industry
agreement on site sharing, against which progress will be published regularly.
- To establish professional development workshops on technological developments
within telecommunications for local authority officers and elected members.
- To deliver, with the Government, a database of information available to the
public on radio base stations.
- To assess all radio base stations for international (International Commission
on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection - ICNIRP) compliance for public exposure,
and produce a programme for ICNIRP compliance for all radio base stations as
recommended by the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones.
- To provide, as part of planning applications for radio base stations, a certification
of compliance with ICNIRP public exposure guidelines.
- To provide specific staff resources to respond to complaints and enquiries
about base stations, within ten working days.
- To begin financially supporting the Government’s independent scientific
research programme on mobile communications health issues.
- To develop standard supporting documentation for all planning submissions
whether full planning or Prior Approval.
(Source: Code of Practice on Mobile Phone Network Development, Office of the
Deputy Prime Minister 2002)
In addition the Government has produced the Code of Best Practice on Mobile Phone
Network Development in 2002 which sets out the standards operators should follow
in respect of telecommunications development.
Return to top of page
Policy Context
Government Guidance
Government policy is set out in Planning Policy Guidance
Note 8: Telecommunications (2001) (PPG8). The aim of the Government’s telecommunications policy is ‘to
ensure that people have a choice as to who provides their telecommunications
service, a wider range of services from which to choose and equitable access
to the latest technologies as they become available’. The Government
places great emphasis on its well-established national policies for the protection
of the countryside and urban areas, in particular, those relating to Green Belt,
Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas.
Local Authorities are encouraged to respond positively to telecommunications
development proposals. In considering proposals for development they should have
regard to the significance of proposed development as part of the national network,
and any technical constraints on the location and the proposed development. They
should also take into account other guidance on the protection of urban and rural
areas. The sharing of sites and masts and the use of existing buildings and structures
is strongly encouraged.
Government guidance makes it clear that the Council should not question the need
for the system that the development is intended to support. The Licence granted
to the cell phone operators requires a national network and one which is demand
led, i.e. it responds to complaints of inadequate capacity or signal strength
by amending the network appropriately. Concerns from the general public
relating to the use of mobile phones and installations have intensified
in recent years as such developments have increased. Mobile phone installations
transmit and receive signals using electromagnetic waves (also referred to as
electromagnetic fields (EMFs) or radio waves and the impact of such waves on
human health has been the subject of continuing research and discussion. The
National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) and the International Commission
on Non Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), produced exposure guidelines in
relation to radiation, which included EMFs as produced through the use of mobile
phones and their antennae. On 1 April 2005 the National Radiological Protection
Board merged with the Health Protection Agency (HPA) forming its new Radiation
Protection Division. Material previously available on the NRPB web site may be
accessed here, including for the ICNIRP guidelines.
Government policy set out in PPG8 is a material planning consideration. Bexley
Council must have regard to it when making decisions on planning applications
for telecommunications development.
Bexley Unitary Development Plan (Adopted 2004)
The local policy framework for planning decisions is
set out in the Bexley Unitary Development Plan. Policy ENV45 of the Unitary Development
Plan sets out the Council’s policy on telecommunications development.
Return to top of page
Different types of installation
There are different types of telecommunications installations:
- Macrocell - These cover larger areas and therefore generally
require taller structures e.g. large telecommunications towers.
- Microcell – These cover limited areas of need or demand
e.g. streetworks installations
- Picocell – These are generally
located on buildings to provide limited coverage in a specific area.
Return to top of page
Statutory Planning Regime
Proposals for telecommunications development will usually fall within one
of the following three categories:
Development requiring full planning permission
These developments include masts over 15 metres in height (including the antennae
on the mast), certain developments in Conservation Areas and apparatus sited
on a building which exceeds 15m in height where the building is 30m or more high,
or exceeds 10m if the building is less than 30m in height. Applications submitted
by non-code systems operators will also require full planning permission. In
dealing with these kinds of applications the Council is able to take into account
a full range of material planning considerations. The Council can grant permission
and impose conditions or refuse planning permission. The Council will aim to
make a decision within 8 weeks of the receipt of the application.
Development requiring notification to the Council as to whether prior
approval of siting and appearance is required
These developments include:
- Masts of 15 metres in height or less except in Conservation Areas
- An antenna on a building or structure where the antenna would exceed the
height of a building by 4m or more.
- A public call box
- Radio equipment housing with a volume in excess of 2.5 cubic metres.
- Development that is ancillary to radio equipment housing.
These types of development are granted planning permission under Part 24 of
the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995 (as
amended 2001) subject to certain conditions being met. One of the conditions
is that prior notification must be given to the Council. The Council then has
a period of 56 days to decide whether it wishes to approve the details and within
which it must make its decision. In deciding these types of application, the
Council can only take into account considerations relating to 'siting
and appearance'. The Council can give approval to the development’s
'siting and appearance'. Permission can be refused if the ‘siting’ or ‘appearance’ of
the development would cause harm, but in deciding an application the Council
will need to consider, amongst others, whether there are any other suitable and
more appropriate locations which are available.
Development which is 'permitted development' and does
not need planning permission
These developments include small antennae systems, additional
antennae on an existing mast and other installations on a building which do not
materially affect the external appearance of the building. Under Part 24 of the
Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995 (as amended
2001), these works are ‘Permitted Development’. They may be carried
out without planning permission and no prior notification is required. As a matter
of good practice, operators will usually inform the Council of their intention
to undertake works 28 days in advance.
Return to top of page
Material Considerations
There are a number of matters the Council can take into account when dealing
with applications for telecommunications development. These include:
- The potential for site sharing or for locating antennae on existing buildings
or structures.
- Whether a new mast or antenna is of appropriate size, design and colour to
minimise visual impact.
- The cumulative impact upon the environment of antennae sharing a mast, of
masts sharing a site, or of masts within a locality.
- The degree to which the proposed mast or antennae would be screened.
- The impact the proposal may have on sensitive environments including Green
Belt locations.
- Impact of noise from the equipment on the amenity of nearby residents.
Any of these issues will also be relevant to the consideration of ‘siting’ and ‘appearance’
in “prior approval” applications. Any adverse impacts of the proposed
development must
be weighed against the need for the development as part of the roll out of the
national
telecommunications network.
Return to top of page
Health Considerations
Government guidance on the consideration of health issues is set out in PPG8
which states that it is the role of Government not Local Planning Authorities,
to decide what measures are necessary to protect public health. If an application
meets adopted ICNIRP guidelines then it should not be necessary for a local planning
authority to consider health aspects further or concerns about them. The HPA
has a statutory duty to advise Government on the matter of health risks associated
with telecommunications development. In 1999 the Government asked the then NRPB
to set up the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones (IEGMP). This group under
the chairmanship of Sir William Stewart published its report in 2000. The Report
is commonly referred to as the ‘Stewart Report’. The report concluded
that ‘the balance of evidence indicates that there is no general risk to
health of people living near to base stations on the basis that exposures are
expected to be small fractions of the guidelines. However, there can be indirect
adverse effects on their well being in some cases’.
A further study
by the Advisory Group on Non-Ionising Radiation (AGNIR), to re-assess the work
of the ‘Stewart Report’, reported back in 2003 and stated in its
findings that “in aggregate, the research published since the IEGMP report
does not give cause for concern. The weight of evidence now available does not
suggest that there are adverse health effects from exposures to RF (radio frequency)
fields below guideline levels….”. However it was acknowledged that
continued research was needed, as the rollout of telecommunications is a relatively
new phenomenon. Operators submitting planning applications for such development
must submit with the application a certificate of conformity with ICNIRP public
exposure guidelines. The Government acknowledges that the public perception
of health risk and public concern about it can in principle be material planning
considerations. However if an application is accompanied by an ICNIRP
certificate then Government advises that it should not be necessary for a local
planning authority to consider these matters further.
Return to top of page
Pre-Application Discussion
The Council will undertake pre-application discussions with operators on proposals
for the installation of new masts and other telecommunications development. Such
discussions should help to establish the context for the proposed installation,
clarify the policy approach and identify any information that will be requested
to supplement any subsequent application. The Council is able to offer advice
on the appropriateness of sites, advise on who is to be consulted before the
submission of an application and identify sensitive sites. Mobile phone operators
are also required to submit details annually of their intended developments over
the forthcoming year. This is known as the ‘roll out’ and can inform
the Local Planning Authority of the general areas in which operators are looking
to install new equipment. When considering pre-application proposals from operators
the Council, so as to be in a position to provide the most comprehensive response,
will seek the following information:
- A site location plan showing the proposed location in relation to its surroundings.
- An elevational scaled drawing depicting the design and height of the proposed
installation.
- Predictive coverage plots, with and without the installation.
- Details of alternative sites and structures considered and if appropriate
reasons for discounting these.
Return to top of page
Publicity and Community Involvement
The Council encourages operators to carry out local consultation before the
submission of an application and requires a statement with the application setting
out how the views of the local community have been taken into account. When applications
for planning permission or prior approval are received, the Council will notify
Ward Councillors and local residents in accordance with adopted procedures and
put up a site notice. Any comments received will be taken into account in making
a decision on the application.
Return to top of page
Mast Register
The Council maintains an up to date register of all telecommunications installations
of which they are aware. It is important to note that a number of installations
do not require planning permission and accordingly will not feature on this list.
Further details can be obtained from the Council.
Return to top of page
Information Accompanying Planning Applications
Supporting information to accompany both full and ‘prior approval’ applications
will be required as follows:
- Full details of the site including an Ordnance Survey based 1:1250 scale
plan clearly identifying the site by outlining it in red, the means of access
to it and the means of supplying power to it.
- The operator’s strategy for telecommunications development in the area
to be served by the proposed mast and its relationship to adjoining facilities,
whether permitted or planned.
- A statement indicating the consideration given to alternative locations,
including existing sites, buildings and structures, and including reasons why
sites have been discounted.
- A statement explaining the reasons for the choice of design, supported by
full details including metric scaled drawings, colour and height.
- Full details of antenna(e), including height, position on mast, frequency
and modulation characteristics and power output.
- A signed declaration that the equipment meets the ICNIRP guidelines and an
accurate estimation of the exposure in relation to the ICNIRP guidelines.
- Full details of ancillary equipment and landscaping where appropriate.
- Details of any pre-application discussions and consultations.
- Where relevant, photo montages of the proposed development, illustrating
all equipment, fencing, landscaping and means of access.
- A statement setting out how the community have been involved in the proposal
and how their views have been taken into account.
Return to top of page
Planning Decisions
All telecommunications applications are
currently referred to Planning Control Committee for decision. When granting
planning permission, the Council may impose conditions where appropriate. These
often relate to painting the mast and/or cabinets a certain colour or to provide
vegetation screening, to limit any visual intrusion. If permission is refused,
the Council must give reasons to justify the refusal. An appeal may be
lodged by the applicant against the refusal of permission and the matter would
then be decided by an independent Planning Inspector.
Return to top of page
Further Information
Relevant Legislation, Policy and other information
- Part 24 of The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development)
Order (Amendment) (England) Order 2001.
- Planning Policy Guidance Note 8 – Telecommunications
- Mobile Phones and Health (The Stewart Report). Independent Expert Group on
Mobile Phones (2000)
- AGNIR report into the Stewart Report January 2004.
- Mobile Phones and Health (Department of Health leaflet) 2000.
- Mobile phone base stations and health (Department of Health leaflet) 2000.
- Code of Best Practice on Mobile Phone Network Development (2002)
- Bexley Unitary Development Plan (2004)
Return to top of page
Useful Websites
Contact Details
For further information relating to telecommunications development please
contact:
Bexley Council, Development Control, Wyncham House,
207 Longlands Road,
Sidcup,
Kent DA15 7JH
Telephone: 020 8308 7992
Email: developmentcontrol@bexley.gov.uk
|
