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Chartered Town Planning Consultants Telecommunications Specialists
Isle of Man Government Dept. of Local Government & the Environment Planning & Building Control Directorate Planning Section Murray House Mount Havelock Douglas IOM IM1 2SF
7 Beech Tree Drive Clowne Chesterfield Derbyshire S43 4UJ
Mobile : 07779 331991 Tel & Fax : 01246 813923 [email protected]
3rd February 2007
Our Ref : Arqiva/Richmond Hill/Cabs
Dear Sirs,
Re : Proposed provision of various equipment cabinets, gantries, feeders, cabling and other ancillary works to support the provision of 2No. temporary pump up masts for Cable & Wireless and Cloud 9 Mobile Communications, previously applied for, at the Arqiva Richmond Hill Transmitting Station, The Speke, Braddan, Douglas, IOM. PLANNING APPLICATION SUBMISSION.
We are instructed by Arqiva to prepare and lodge on behalf of Cable & Wireless and Cloud 9 Mobile Communications a full planning application for the proposed works at the above site. Please be aware that an application in respect of the 2 masts only has already been lodged, Ref : 07/00015/B and is under consideration. The proposed cabinets, gantries, feeders, cabling and ancillary works hereby proposed are to support the two masts and the equipment to be installed thereon.
Following the telecommunication industry's "10 Commitments" initiative; PPG8 [ in lieu of IOM's own version ]; and the Code of Best Practice, a prior consultation letter was dispatched to the Planning & Building Control Directorate dated 16th November 2006 but to date, we have not received any response. We are pleased however to enclose our full planning application for these proposals and to enable you to register and determine the application, we have enclosed the following : -
As stated in our pre-application consultations, Arqiva are proposing to replace the existing 10m high monopole at the site with a new 50m high slimline, tapering lattice tower to support new equipment for BBC DAB; Cable & Wireless and Cloud 9 Mobile Communications, as well as the existing Manx Telecom equipment to be transferred from the existing monopole. A formal planning application for this proposal has been lodged concurrently for this.
However, Cable & Wireless and Cloud 9 have a more pressing need for equipment at the site and in view of the likely timescales for the receipt of planning approval and then construction of said new tower, a temporary solution for both operators is required. From March 2007 for a 12 month period or until the completion of the new tower, whichever is the sooner, the operators require to provide their services to cover the 200th TT Race meeting and also the usual peak traffic over the tourist season.
Accordingly, an application for the provision of 2 temporary pump up masts has been submitted and is under consideration, Ref: 07/00015/B. That application is supported by technical justification and a coverage plot from Cable & Wireless and also by a coverage plot for Cloud 9, along with various commentaries on planning policies and the benefits of the development.
To support these temporary masts and the equipment to be installed thereon, a further provision of equipment cabinets, gantries, feeders, cabling and other ancillary works is required, all as shown on the enclosed drawings Nos. DO.E1 - 01613, Issue 1[ A4 size ] & DO.FS - 26835, Rev.2.
The temporary masts will be required for a period of 12 months from erection or until such time as the permanent tower replacement is operational, whichever is the sooner. The same period will of course be required for these cabinets et al and as before, a conditional approval along these lines is of course acceptable.
Regarding the pre-application consultations, we believe the letters previously issued have sufficiently covered the content of this application and copies of these are once again enclosed.
The Braddan Local Plan is we understand, the extant policy document within which applications will be considered, it being in force since July 1991. The Draft Braddan Local Plan of April 2001 has now been abandoned we understand in favour of the emerging Sector Plans, under the umbrella of the Draft IOM Strategic Plan November 2004.
From the Braddan Plan, we understand that the site does not lie within any Article 1[5] land but is within an Area of High Landscape Value. The site itself is believed to be classified as a "Transmitting Station", as defined within Section 5 Industry of the plan.
This statement does not provide specific policy wording but states at Paragraph 5.3 that, "There are also industries operating within the parish which have been approved or accepted in the past on the grounds of special or particular need to be located in particular locations within the countryside." We understand that the Arqiva Transmitting site is one such 'industry' and that the site is designated as a "Transmitting Station" for the purposes of the local plan.
Accordingly, we believe that the continuation of use of the site for the said approved purposes is consistent with this plan objective and moreover, that the sharing of the site and expansion of the number of operators accommodated, accords with the wider aims and objectives of telecommunications equipment deployment in that it negates tower proliferation and the establishment of new Greenfield sites in the area.
The provision of this small number of comparatively minor equipment cabinets and gantries etc does not we believe contradict any of the policy stipulations prevailing at this acknowledged telecoms site and, being at or below the height of the existing perimeter fence, are unlikely to result in any visual harm to the wider locality.
We hope that the above supporting information is sufficient for the determination of the application but we are happy to provide additional information and / or meet with officers as appropriate. We would welcome a decision at the earliest possible opportunity, by delegation if at all possible and will do all we can to assist in achieving this.
We look forward to receiving your acknowledgement of safe receipt and the registration details of the application but in the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact the undersigned further as required.
Yours sincerely Ian Hewitt DipURP MRTPI Cc : Mike Smith - Arqiva.
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