Ultra fast 5G coming to part of Portland
A new telecoms mast has been approved
A telecoms mast, 5m taller than the existing one, is to be allowed on a site off Easton Street, Portland, bringing 5G to the area.
The new mast, to the rear of Easton Masonry, will reach 20metres hosting a range of antennas, transmission dishes and remote radio units.
It will bring ultra-fast 5G communications to the area for those who can afford devices which uses the technology and are signed up to a Vodafone contract.
Neither Portland Town Council nor the ward councillors sitting on Dorset Council responded to the application, with no comments lodged by members of the public. The mast site is within the Portland Conservation Area and close to the Tout Quarry Reserve and the Sculpture Park and within 25 metres of the nearest home.
In the planning application the developers claimed that a bigger mast is needed to support 5G technology and that the existing mast would not be structurally capable of carrying the equipment needed both for 5G and for 2G, 3G and 4G signals.
A Dorset Council planning officer concluded that the change of mast, in an area which has an industrial and commercial backdrop, would “not have a significantly and demonstrably harmful impact on the setting of the Conservation Area,” and would not affect any listed buildings.
The existing mast is about 30m away from the gardens of Victoria Place to the south and 40m away from Easton Street to the east, the closest building being 25m away.