Council objects to application that has yet to be submitted

Vodafone contacted Northwich Town Council in advance with its proposals for a 10-metre mast, which will be disguised as a telegraph pole, at Lucky Pete’s Chippy, in Winnington Lane.

This is the mobile phone company’s preferred location after it considered other Winnington Lane sites, including Winning Kitchens, the BP Garage, Allman Car Sales and streetworks opposite Oakleigh Rise, and another site in Firdale Road.

Clr Steve Gough said: “I am wholly unhappy with the mast by the chip shop.

“They don’t want to put it by the garage, which is only across the road. If it’s not good enough for one side of the road it’s not good enough for the other.”

Clr Arthur Neil said: “Rightly or wrongly a lot of people have concerns about the proximity of masts to residential properties. That side of the road is predominantly residential.

“I find it hard to believe it would be less of a problem on the other side of the road which is more commercial.”

Vodafone’s reasons for discounting four of the five other sites are that the mast would be visually unacceptable.

Winning Kitchens was discounted because of the landowner’s refusal to have it there.

The council discussed whether it should offer its comments to Vodafone before the plans were officially submitted.

Clr Gough said: “If we don’t comment the company will go to the local planning authority and say we made no comments.

“I think this would be a time for us to make some comments.”

Clr John Turnbull said: “Part of the new planning process is to put out documentation before applying for permission then the developers can put things right before they apply.”

Clr Roy Garton said: “If you do put in serious objections to it these people will have stolen the march on you – by the time it gets to the planning stage they’ve got all the answers.”

The council decided it would write to Vodafone to say it objected to the proposals on the grounds of a loss of visual and residential amenity.