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Published:
September
22,
2009
O2's
bid to build phone mast on Burnham-On-Sea cinema to be decided
 Mobile
phone giant O2's bid to build a five metre tall phone mast on
top of Burnham-On-Sea's Ritz Cinema looks set to be finally decided
next month.
The
Planning Inspectorate is holding a public inquiry on the proposals
on Wednesday 7th October in the town's Princess Hall, which is
scheduled to last two days.
It
comes after O2 last month won an appeal to retain its mast at
the rear of Morrisons in Pier Street.
However,
that permission
is temporary because O2 can only remain on the site for nine months
from the date it gains any permission for the mast on the Ritz
Cinema, or for a period of 18 months if no consent is obtained
at the Ritz.
The O2 Ritz application was initially refused by Sedgemoor District
Council amid concerns about the design of the scheme, so a second
application was submitted for an amended scheme. That too was
refused, so O2 has appealed against the council’s decision
and the appeal will be heard at the public inquiry.
Burnham-On-Sea.com
first reported in 2007
that O2 had
submitted an application to build the mast, disguised
as a flag pole, plus three antennae on the roof of the
cinema in Victoria Street, pictured, in order to introduce fast
3G mobile Internet coverage across the town.
Although
members of Burnham's Planning Applications Committee gave their
approval to the proposals in July
2008, the final decision rested with Sedgemoor District Council,
and it turned down the application last August. Its case officer
Chris Gomm said the "incongruous and alien" phone mast
would be out of place in the town centre.
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