Permission refused for mast at centre of planning battle between companies

A decision by Donegal County Council to grant planning permission for a 21-metre mast to provide high-speed broadband in Quigley’s Point has been overturned by An Coimisiún Pleanála. 

In refusing permission, the Board, which deliberated on the case involving two of Ireland’s largest telecommunications infrastructure providers, stated that the telecommunications structure would be “visually dominant and would have an adverse visual impact on the small village, surrounding high amenity landscapes, and nearby coastal area.”

On Tower Ireland Ltd had sought permission to construct the 21-metre user lattice-type telecommunications support structure for telecommunications company Three Ireland on a farmyard in the townland of Tromaty. 

Typically, these are used to host communication equipment for mobile phone carriers and other private providers. 

The decision by DCC to grant permission was appealed by Towercom Limited, who constructed an 18m telecommunications support structure at the Eir Exchange in Quigleys Point in May 2023, which is just 275m away from On Tower’s proposed development.

They raised concerns regarding the two sites being located nearby and on either side of the R240 (Carndonagh to Quigley’s Point Road), with houses and commercial premises in between.

According to the inspector's report for An Coimisiún Pleanála, Towercom's partial grounds for appealing were that there was "no consideration of extending the existing mast." 

Towercom says that its structure has potential for site sharing and co-location for telecommunications equipment, and "will be made available to all interested parties”.

It says that its current mast can be extended, subject to a full planning application, but there was “inadequate examination” of this possibility undertaken, they outlined in their appeal. 

Other reasons raised by Towercom were the “Inadequate consideration of other masts in the surrounding area and inappropriate inclusion of 3G services which are being phased out.”

In response to Towercom's appeal, On Tower stated that there was a clear lack of coverage for Three Ireland for both indoor and outdoor coverage, and the proposed development is crucial in providing high-speed broadband.

The applicant also stated that “there is a technical requirement for a 21m high structure height to avoid the signal being blocked by dense tree cover.”

Towercom stated in their appeal that the “lattice design was inappropriate,” but On Tower disagreed in their response and outlined that the lattice design is suitable for rural areas as it is “see through” and not solid.”

Regarding the co-location and mast sharing, On Tower stated it wasn’t an option for several reasons. These included “coverage outage during replacement lasting between one and four weeks” 

On Tower also noted that Donegal County Council had previously “refused permission for an identical proposal to the extension of the Towercom site for a 21m structure, and a reduced structure of 18m was granted permission by the An Coimisiún Pleanála.

Other notable reasons stated by the applicant were that they have a “legal agreement with Eircom requiring its equipment to be located on the top 3m slot, unclear if this can be accommodated on the extended monopole, and a much higher structure may be required with resultant visual impacts.”

The planning inspector Karla McBride for An Coimisiún Pleanála noted from a site inspection that the Towercom constructed structure is “located at the bottom of a hill, and at a lower level than the proposed structure” by On Tower. 

“Taking account of the difference in site levels, along with the overall height of the permitted structure (19.5m) and the height of the proposed structure (21m), the proposed structure would be 7.5m taller when viewed from the surrounding scenic amenity areas.”

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Following the inspector's report of not being satisfied that the proposed development would not have an adverse visual impact on the village, rural and coastal character, An Coimisiún Pleanála overturned Donegal County Council’s decision and refused planning permission for the development.  

Furthermore, An Coimisiún Pleanála said that due to the presence of Towercom’s existing telecommunications structure in the area, also on the “periphery of the village, the proposed development would give rise to a proliferation of telecommunication structures in and around Quigleys Point. The proposed development would, therefore, be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.”