PLANS for a 30 metre high telecommunication tower in Penallt are to be discussed next week by county council planners.

As part of a contract to supply rural areas of Wales with superfast broadband, plans for the tower would mean the structure, to be placed within Pen-y-Garn Farm, would enable properties in the surrounding area to benefit from higher internet speeds.

The lattice tower, sited within the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), would be operated by AB Internet, a firm specialising in providing superfast broadband to rural areas where there are no alternative options. The benefits mean that homes can receive fast broadband, theoretically without a phone line being installed.

The application for planning has been recommended for approval by Trellech United Community Council, who stated that: “Councillors recognised that the scheme had the potential to offer benefit to Monmouthshire residents; and noted that the visual impact statement suggested no serious impact.”

In a meeting on 16th November between the community council and Neil Tucker, a representative from AB Internet, members heard how funding from Monmouthshire County Council (MCC), together with funding from central government, aims to bring superfast broadband to 1600 areas in the county which fall in “white areas” that BT does not intend to connect to fast broadband services.

Last year, 95 per cent of homes in the UK had access to superfast broadband. In Monmouthshire, the figure was only 80 per cent.

MCC has received correspondence from a number of Penallt residents who question the application. They suggest that there is not a commercial case for a wireless broadband solution of this scale in the village, and that there will be very few who will benefit from this encroachment into the landscape within the AONB.

There also appears to be some dispute from the AONB with regard to the application. One officer said in a document submitted to the council: “It does not adequately seek to address the conservation and enhancement of the unique character and special qualities of the landscape.

“We recognise that mobile phones and broadband have revolutionised modern life and that the topography and rurality of the AONB means that coverage is not consistent. However, in the aspiration to reach comprehensive high speed broadband coverage, the balance has to be reached so that the valley sides don’t end up bristling with masts to achieve this,” they added.

“The AONB Management Plan suggests that masts should use optimum designs or involve innovative solutions, such as incorporation in church towers or farm buildings, which when accompanied by adequate landscaping where appropriate, minimises the landscape impacts in the AONB.

“It is stated a number of times in the application documents that the site has been chosen as having the least landscape and visual impact to meet the topographic requirements which would enable this technology to function effectively.

“However, we failed to find any information within the application documents to demonstrate which alternative sites had been considered and why this is the most appropriate site for the development. It is not clear what alternative designs or mitigation measures have been considered which result in this being the optimum solution.”

The plans will be discussed at the MCC planning committee meeting on 2nd January.