Nearly 200 residents have signed a petition against proposed plans for a 15 metre high 5G mast in Walnut Tree.
The plans, submitted by CK Hutchison Networks, propose 'the installation of a 15 metre high monopole supporting 6 no. antennas, 4 no. equipment cabinets (including a wrap around cabinet) and ancillary development works' on Walton Road, opposite the entrance to Pinfold.
A spokesperson for Three, the phone giants behind the proposal, has told MKFM: “5G rollout is vital for residents and businesses of Walnut Tree. We want to offer the community a reliable network experience and this new site will be critical to making that happen.
"While we try to keep mast sites as unobtrusive as possible, they need to be situated where people will be using the service and, in many cases, in precise locations to ensure the widest breadth of coverage. Often this demand is in residential areas.”
Concerns have been raised by residents, as well as the local community council, over the 5G mast being built in the residential area. With many commenting on the masts appearance and its 15 meter height.
A petition has been set up urging Milton Keynes Council to refuse permission for the mast and has been signed by over 180 people so far.
The petition reads: 'The Plans submitted by Hutchison Network (Trading as Three) are deliberately misleading, showing the proposed mast in what seems to be a large outside space with residential properties in the far background, when in fact, the mast would be sited very close to the highway and resident's front and back gardens.
'A 15m mast is not in-keeping with the character of this quiet residential area and would have a strongly negative and detrimental visual impact on the area. The mast is also contra to Milton Keynes Council's Telecommunications Systems Policy Supplementary Planning Document (SPD).'
Previously, Walton Community Council has taken to social media to ask residents to submit objections, stating that they strongly objected to the proposals during the pre-consultation period.
A spokesperson from Walton Community Council told MKFM: "We are extremely disappointed that Hutchison Network (Three) has proposed the residential area of Walton Road in Walnut Tree as the location for a 5G telecommunications mast.
"The monopole has a height of 15m and this is put into sharp perspective when compared to the average house height of 9m. The mast will even go beyond the existing tree line. We are not anti-technology but this type of development should and can be positioned, as they are everywhere else in Milton Keynes, on the grid roads, and not on resident’s front doors."
