Plans to erect seven 5G masts in Cork City rejected

Call for reform of licensing system in relation to masts

Cllrs Sean Martin and Paudie Dineen with residents of Friars Walk earlier this year blocked the installation of a second telecoms mast in six months outside a house. The first mast is visible in the background.

Plans to erect seven 5G boosting telecoms masts in the heart of Cork City — including five along its main street — have been shot down amid concerns about their visual impact.

But the applications to install them, and the reasons why they were all rejected, are not readily available to the public because such structures are exempt from planning and are dealt with through the same licensing process for street furniture, like tables and chairs outside pubs and restaurants.

Independent city councillor Paudie Dineen has expressed surprise that so many masts were being proposed for St Patrick’s Street, and that the public was again not aware of it because of how the licensing system works.

People can only appeal the granting of a licence for such masts to An Bórd Pleanála after they have been installed.

Mr Dineen said: “This is another example of the need for urgent reform of the licensing system as it applies to such masts. We need more transparency.” 

The Irish Examiner has learned that Cignal Infrastructure Ltd, part of the Cellnex company, a wireless telecoms infrastructure specialist, applied to Cork City Council through the section 254 licensing process for licences for eight telecom booster masts in the city’s south central ward.

Just one licence was approved because it was effectively a renewal of a licence for an existing mast on Grange Rd near Douglas.

The other seven applications included five masts on St Patrick's St, including:

• at 1-5 St Patrick’s St, close to the Merchant’s Quay shopping centre;
• at 18-12 St Patrick’s St, close to Brown Thomas;
• at 34 St Patrick’s St, close to Cook St;
• a few units west, at 50 St Patrick’s St;
• and again, just a few doors away at 60 St Patrick’s St, close to the turn onto the Grand Parade.

The other two applications were for masts nearby at 6-7 Paul Street and at 21 Academy Street.

All seven applications were refused.

Cellnex declined to answer specific questions on what type of masts it proposed for these areas.

But in March, it announced that it is working with Bigbelly, a company that supplies smart waste and recycling bins, on the repurposing of its solar-powered bins around Dublin by “equipping them for connectivity”.

The Bigbelly ‘smart bins’ include smart services such as usage alerts to speed up collection.

Several ‘smart bins’ have been installed but because the company did not answer specific questions, it is not clear if Cellnex planned something similar in Cork city.

Conservation concerns

Council planners in Cork said they were concerned that the proposed masts were in or near architectural conservation areas.

In relation to the licence application for the mast at 60 St Patrick’s Street, the planners said the proposed structure was large and “extremely visually obtrusive” and would not “respect, reflect or contribute to the character of vibrancy of the city centre”.

They said the other mast applications were rejected for similar reasons.

Cellnex said in a statement that it submitted the applications to “enhance 5G coverage in the city and to futureproof the area for smart city applications”.

“In Cork city, and in other large urban locations, the need for additional sites is driven by increased demand from customers.”

It did not answer specific questions about what it plans to do next in relation to the mast proposals.