Proposal for phone mast in conservation area falls through

Vodafone, in an agreement with Telefonica UK Ltd, had lodged a pre-planning application for a radio base station on the footpath outside The Bridge Café, in Bron Y Mor, Lakeside, The Knap.

Residents and café users had collected more than 200 signatures on a petition opposing the plan which the company had said would improve mobile phone coverage in the area.

A Vodafone spokeswoman said: “Vodafone and O2 customers expect to be able to use their mobiles and devices where they live, work and travel. Base stations are low powered devices which cover approximately half a mile in radius, therefore we have to put base stations close to our customers. Vodafone and O2 identified that they need to improve the coverage to their customers in Barry and have proposed a base station at The Knap. Unfortunately, we have found underground features that would prevent successful development of a base station at this location. We are presently considering our options locally.”

Barry Town Council (BTC) objected to the proposal for the 15-metre T-Range pole, supporting six antenna, two dishes and associated ground based equipment cabinets, which would have been installed in customer view.

Sharon Richards, who owns The Bridge Café, previously told the Barry & District News she would board up the 31-year-old business if the mast was installed.

Petition organiser Glyn Pooley, of Highfield Road, Barry, said: “About 200 people signed in less than a week. We had to give the community a voice and send a clear message to Vodafone and the council that it was in the wrong position – it was highly visible and in a conservation area.

“People were concerned about it being inches from a café and also health issues.

“The community got together in a short period of time.”

He added: “They found a sewage pipe which could have caused problems.”

Residents opposed a proposal to locate a 12.5m telephone mast on land at Bull Cliff, off Marine Drive, Barry, in November 2016.