A PLANNING inspector has rejected a mobile telecoms firm’s appeal against a refusal to allow a 65-feet high 4G mast to be erected in a sensitive area of Exmoor.

Hutchison 3G UK’s plans were turned down last year by Exmoor National Park Authority.

Now, planning inspector James Evans has dismissed the company’s appeal and agreed the landscape near Honeymead, Simonsbath, should be protected.

Mr Evans said: “A distinct feature of the area is the extensive panoramic views of the hills and valleys.

An impression of how the telecoms mast would have stood out in the landscape.
An impression of how the telecoms mast would have stood out in the landscape. PHOTO: Exmoor Society. ( )

“The rich tapestry of the landscape comprises fields, woodlands and moors, with the latter dominating the higher land.

“The absence of development upon the high ground gives it a remote, expansive quality.

“There is a strident and attractive juxtaposition between the open, undeveloped, and expansive nature of the moors compared to the fields and their hedges and scattered woodlands.

“These contrasts give the landscape a unique, and distinct appearance.”

Mr Evans said the mast would be taller than surrounding trees and there were already two other masts nearby.

Its height and position high on a hillside would make it visible from long distances, including from public rights of way and viewpoints.

Hutchison argued its mast would only moderately or slightly detract from the landscape, but Mr Evans said it would still be ‘an intrusive and eye-catching feature’ and ‘an intrusively strident interruption that would harmfully draw the eye’.

He said the substantial landscape harm outweighed the public benefits of improving 4G connectivity for people in the Simonsbath area.