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161017 Planning Application Support Statement Governors Hill V6
Street furniture and Cabinets FOR Sure (IOM) Ltd
AT
Sure Site 24 Hailwood Ave Governor's Hill Douglas, IOM
Planning Application Supporting Statement
DATE: 17 October 2016
PREPARED BY:
Steven Allan Sure IOM Ltd
Sure IOM REF: Site 24 Governor's Hill
In 2006/7 Sure Isle of Man Limited (Sure) was awarded an Isle of Man (IOM) Mobile Operators Licence, issued by the island's Communications Commission, to provide a mobile phone network and services to the island's inhabitants and visitors. This service competes with the incumbent operator (Manx Telecom) and allows greater choice and competition for consumers and businesses.
The mobile phone network consists of a number of sites that house various pieces of equipment to provide coverage in the vicinity, such as panel antennae, and also transmission dishes that link sites together. Combined with other sites they are designed to provide an extensive, continuous network.
Sure will endeavour, whenever possible, to install its equipment on existing infrastructure or radio transmitters. The aim is always to minimise the visual impact of providing mobile phone network infrastructure.
Where this is not possible, and it is necessary to introduce additional telecommunications infrastructure, this supporting statement will justify why the infrastructure is required and demonstrate that the best possible design available for the site has been identified, keeping visual impact and amenity a priority at all times.
It will also help to explain the decisions which led to the specific location being chosen and will outline which alternatives were considered and discounted.
A variety of supporting information may be included with each application but ultimately Sure's aim is to minimise the number of new structures and reduce the visual impact of the network, whilst providing sufficient signal strength to provide coverage for customers to take advantage of a range of Sure's services.
For the avoidance of doubt: a cell site, as referred to in this document, is a combination of equipment including cabinets, antennae and structures, required to facilitate the operation of a mobile phone cell.
The proposed development will consist of a single ten metre tall street works including antenna and four small cabinets housing all the electrical equipment required. The electrical cabinets will be screened by shrubbery and a low stone wall near the base of the street works. The topography of the local area does not currently permit radio propagation into the Governor's Hill estate from existing sites in the area and therefore this additional site has been carefully chosen to extend the mobile network. We believe this proposal offers the best possible compromise between visual amenity, recognising it is a residential area, and the requirement for development of the network to meet Governor's Hill residents' needs.
The proposed development site is located on Hailwood Avenue near the junction with Lakeside Road. The location of the site has been strategically considered to provide optimal coverage in the Governor's Hill estate. This area currently has very low signal levels from both the Sure and Manx Telecom networks.
The proposed site, if approved, will provide the optimal radio performance for the target area. As this is a residential area with two schools nearby, site selection has taken this into account. The proposed site is the maximum possible distance from the local schools while remaining within a suitable area to provide the required coverage. The proposed site is in the middle of a residential area; however due to the topography it is only possible to provide good coverage to Governor's Hill from within the area itself. The land in this area forms a "bowl", making it very difficult to project a signal into the area from the outside. Our proposed site is in the base of the bowl and would therefore provide the best possible propagation of radio signals throughout the desired area. As a result we feel that this is the most obvious and appropriate choice of site location.
We have met with planning officers Edmond Riley, Jason Singleton and Abigail Morgan to discuss this proposal. They accepted the need for improved coverage in this area and were sympathetic towards the design proposed.
Manx Telecom has made a number of proposals to build additional infrastructure to extend its network in the area around Governor's Hill, but no site has yet been developed. The company's latest application 16/00068/TEL for Hillberry Water Reservoir was refused at appeal
We have received a large number of complaints, in the region of 500 since 2011 to the present, about our mobile phone coverage in the Governor's Hill estate. The current coverage is provided from a site at the IOM Police Headquarters on Dukes Avenue. This location is over a small ridge line and more than a kilometre way from the centre of Governor's Hill. It does not afford the area good quality mobile phone coverage. After thorough investigation of these complaints and the current coverage, we believe the only solution to this problem is the addition to our network of a new cell site to serve this area.
If this location for the site is not supported there will still be a need for a mobile phone cell site in this area. Without a site the majority of residents, estimated at over 2000, will not be able to take advantage of modern mobile services, including Sure's 4G network which provides our customers with better connectivity and more reliable, high speed mobile data; however this is currently negated for our customer in Governor's Hill due to the poor mobile network coverage.
Islanders are keen to embrace new technology and we're already seeing a large number of customers using the mobile network as an alternative to a fixed phone line and broadband. This however requires good signal levels, which are currently not available in Governor's Hill and without the development of a site the residents of this large residential estate will continue to be denied access to the benefits of these new technologies. This proposed development is much needed by the residents of Governor's Hill to improve their access to 21st century technologies so they can benefit from the same fast and dependable mobile service that our other customers enjoy island-wide.
Further evidence of the need for the proposed new site is the willingness of Sure to invest more than £ 100,000 in the development of this site. The numerous attempts by Manx Telecom to develop a site in this area also provides good evidence of the need for improved mobile network coverage in the Governor's Hill area.
The Isle of Man Government recently launched its Digital Inclusion Strategy 2016-2021.It recognises the importance of online access and brings together partners in the public, private and voluntary sectors to help people get online. It's part of the Government's Digital Strategy, which aims to bring more services online and help more people to access them.
The strategy notes the benefits of helping more people to get online including access to training and jobs, social and leisure activities and how it can help to address wider social issues and support economic growth.
Good connectivity is vital to support this strategy and ensuring areas of the island, such as Governor's Hill, are able to access the latest in mobile technology is therefore key.
The accompanying coverage plots (page 6) show the significantly improved coverage this proposed site is expected to provide.
161017 Planning Application Support Statement Governors Hill V6
Current coverage in Governor's Hill:
Red = Good indoor coverage, Amber = Usable indoor coverage Green = Indoor coverage problematic, Blue = Outdoor coverage only Expected coverage should the proposed site be approved:
In selecting this proposed site the utmost care has been taken to minimise its visual impact. A Street works-type structure has been carefully chosen to blend in with existing street furniture along Hailwood Avenue and will not represent a significant change to the visual amenity in this area. This low-visual impact option combined with low profile cabinets, mounted in a hollow will also be screened by shrubbery and a low stone wall, to reduce their impact and protect the aesthetic value of the lakes. We feel that this proposal represents the minimum amount of disruption to the area and protects its existing visual appeal.
The proposed site has been chosen as it is the maximum possible distance from local schools and children's play areas in line with international guidelines. This position provides the best possible mobile network coverage throughout the estate and therefore is of the greatest benefit to the residents of Governor's Hill. Due to the local topography, the low area located near the junction of Hailwood Avenue and Lakeside Road is the optimum location for this proposed site. This location will provide the best possible propagation of radio signals throughout the desired area.
Therefore, given all of the above, this application represents the best possible site for a new mobile phone development to address the extremely poor coverage in this area.
This image is a mock-up of how the proposed street works will fit in to the environment It shows the proposed Streetworks and Equipment area behind a low stone wall.
Alternative sites considered
Coverage projections indicate that this site would not provide the required improvements.
Coverage prediction for Cat with No Tail
Target area
This would require a 17 m monopole or lattice tower. This proposal would require significant construction; built on a ridge line, highly visible from a large area and on the edge of an area of high natural scenic value. As such we do not feel that this would be an appropriate solution in this instance. In addition it would not achieve the same improvements as the proposed site at Hailwood Avenue.
Coverage prediction for DBC Fields
Target area
This site would not provide any improvement in coverage for the target area.
This mast has already been developed to its maximum potential to improve coverage in the Governor's Hill area but unfortunately does not produce the level of coverage required by users in the estate.
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