Town Council Recommend Refusal of Planning Application for Makins 5G Phone Mast

The planning application that Telent have submitted on behalf of EE to install a 20m high 5G mast on Makins Recreation Ground was recommended refusal by Henley Town Council at last week’s planning meeting.

The HTC Planning Committee recommended refusal on the grounds “that alternative sites, including the Fire Station, have not been fully considered. There are also concerns regarding the proposal’s location on designated Local Green Space. Additionally, mast-sharing should be encouraged.”

Charlotte Wolfe a resident on Gainsborough spoke at the Planning Meeting against the application along with another resident from Haywards Close who pointed out that 3 other sites had not been properly evaluated (Jewson, Station Car Park and Post Office).  Charlotte has started a petition to stop the installation of the mast which has 290+ signatures.  You can still sign this at https://chng.it/4s6fZf7Xj7

On the planning application there are 40+ objections to the planning application including The Henley Society and The Chiltern Society.

Charlotte said, “I am relieved that the planning committee decided to recommend refusal. I’m also really grateful to Councillor Dave Eggleton for being vocally against this planning application. I would have liked the noisy opposition to have come from the town council as a whole as well as the residents. We found out so late despite living so close to the proposed location because the letter inviting us to comment arrived two weeks after it was dated. I know of two named homes who didn’t receive it at all. We have worked hard to raise awareness in Henley in a short amount of time with very limited resources. I just hope it’s been enough. I really want SODC to read all the objections carefully and refuse planning permission, without leaving the door open to Telent trying again to build on the recreation ground, as this is their second attempt. 

At the last Henley Town Council Full Council meeting, the Town Clerk, Sheridan Jacklin-Edward said that the Town Council had attempted to reject the proposals but had received legal advice that it had little power to resist the development.

The public consultation closes today (21 January), you can add your comments on the application here.

The final decision will be made by South Oxfordshire District Council by 9 February.