Permission has been sought to develop a 20m telecommunications column on a grass verge bordering the Lurgan Road in Banbridge.
The application for the mast has been lodged with Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council in the name of Telefonica UK Ltd and Cornerstone.
As the UK’s “leading mobile infrastructure services company”, Cornerstone acquire, manage, and own over 20,000 sites.
The proposal seeks permission to build a mast with six antennae, three remote radio units and two radio dishes with a single cabinet to serve the area’s existing O2 customers.
The site earmarked for development is a grass verge adjacent to Lurgan Road, south west of 1 Cherryville Gardens, close to Havelock Pavilion and Millmount Court.
As part of the application the telecommunications company have submitted supporting information relating to health and mobile phone base stations.
It states: “We recognise that the growth in mobile communication has led, in some cases, to public concern about perceived health effects of mobile technology, in particular about siting masts close to local communities.
“Quite naturally, the public seeks reassurance that masts are not in any way harmful or dangerous.
“We are committed to providing the latest independent peer-reviewed research findings, information, advice and guidance from national and international agencies on radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic fields.
“Cornerstone ensure that our radio base stations are designed and built so that the public are not exposed to radio frequency fields above the guidelines set by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP).
“In fact, radio base stations operate at low power and emit levels of radiofrequency fields many times lower than the ICNIRP general public guidelines.”
Supporting the need for development at the Banbridge site, the company states: “As the way we use our phones and other technologies have changed over the past 30 years, where we locate masts is crucial.
“Due to the increased data transfer necessary for the latest telecommunication services, locations of base stations must be where the local demand exists.”
Additional supplementary information explains: “At present the area is underserved from a telecommunications perspective, with only three sites serving the town centre, with all of the sites being located to the south of the leisure centre.
“All the premises, houses and facilities to the north of the leisure centre, extending out to Seapatrick all rely on the existing telecoms infrastructure in the town centre.”
It continues: “The volume of telecoms traffic that visits this area, whether for commercial, educational residential, or short-term purposes, is impacting the service provision for all users.
“The existing network needs to be strengthened. A new site in this location will not only address any failings in coverage provision, but it will also take the excess telecoms traffic away from the established cells, which indirectly ensures better coverage in the wider area also.”
