Plans for 60ft 5G mast approved despite receiving almost 70 objections

Plans submitted by telecom company Cignal Infrastructure will see a 60ft pole and accompanying equipment built on a grass verge in Southwell Road in Lakenham, at the junction with Milton Close. 

The proposed site for the 5G mast (Image: Google Maps)

It comes as Norwich’s 5G mobile internet rollout is accelerated due to the fact it is severely lagging behind the rest of the UK in terms of coverage.

But locals and businesses – including a private school – voiced their opposition to the plans, labelling it “ridiculous” and a “towering eyesore”. 

“The mast and associated cabinets would add unnecessary urban clutter,” one person argued.

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“[It] would be an imposing, ugly, towering eyesore and out of keeping with the character and appearance… of the area.

“There is already a 5G monopole by the same provider within 500 metres of this location, and signal strength and connectivity is already excellent.”

A 5G mast (Image: Newsquest)

Another local said they objected based on the “sheer scale and design” of the mast, branding it “ridiculous”.

They continued: “Clearly there has been no consideration for how the mast will look and sit within the landscape, which concerns me greatly.

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“It will be… towering over the tightly packed buildings on the only piece of green space in the area.”

Last month, a local ‘alternative’ school was criticised after opposing plans for a 5G mast using conspiracy theories about supposed negative impacts on health.

Norwich Steiner School (Image: Newsquest)

The Norwich Steiner School, in Lakenham, made a series of unsubstantiated claims as part of its objection letter to a now-withdrawn application for a 65ft pole off nearby Hall Road, near St Mark’s Church.

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The school also objected to the plans in Southwell Road, using the same arguments about the supposed health risks of 5G. 

This is despite the frequency range of the 5G signals being emitted by these masts being well below those considered harmful by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). 

The World Health Organisation say electromagnetic frequency exposures below the limits recommended in the ICNIRP guidelines do not appear to have any known consequences on health.