Mast at Ballygunner GAA club rejected over fears for aircraft
Plans for the taller mast were also opposed by Waterford Airport and the Irish Aviation Authority. Picture: Jim Coughlan
Planning permission has been refused for a large telecommunications mast within the grounds of one of Waterford’s best-known GAA clubs because of the threat it would pose to the safe operation of Waterford Airport.
An Bord Pleanála has upheld the decision of Waterford City and County Council to reject an application to replace the existing 15m telecommunications monopole on the grounds of Ballygunner GAA club in Waterford City with a 24m-high mast.
It rejected an appeal against the local authority’s ruling by a Kerry-based telecom firm, Emerald Tower.
Plans for the taller mast were also opposed by Waterford Airport and the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA).
However, Emerald Tower had claimed its plans for the taller mast at the club’s location at Bishopscourt in Ballygunner were extremely important for the mobile phone network in the area.
It claimed existing weak coverage in Waterford needed to be remedied and the proposed structure would have supported dishes and antennas for the country’s main mobile operators including Eir, Three, and Vodafone.
Emerald Tower also pointed out that Ballygunner GAA Club had secured planning permission for floodlighting columns that were over 21.3m high near the proposed site of its mast without any objection or comment from Waterford Airport.
It claimed the airport’s opposition to its application was made “summarily and without view of the full facts”.
A consultant’s report commissioned by Emerald Tower concluded that the risk of a collision with the mast was negligible and well within International Civil Aviation Organisation safety parameters.
It also found that the proposed structure would not pose a safety risk to instrument landing procedures even with an extended runway.
In response, Waterford City and County Council said it would not object to planning permission being granted for the mast if Waterford Airport concurred with the findings of the consultant’s report.
However, Emerald Tower said it had not received a response from the airport within the time constraints of the appeal process.
In its ruling, An Bord Pleanála claimed the proposed taller structure “would create an obstacle within the inner horizontal surface that accompanies Waterford Airport”.
The board said it was not satisfied that the 24m mast would not interfere with the safe operation of the airport.
The local council had also concluded that the mast would be located within the airport’s flight path and would pose a hazard to aircraft using the airport if permitted.
Both Waterford Airport and the IAA highlighted how the airport had planning permission for an extension of its runway which would see its length extend from over 1.4km to almost 2.3km.
The airport’s owners had stated alternative locations for the mast close to the existing site which would not pose an obstacle should have been considered.
They claimed the proposed mast would also have posed an additional hazard, especially during adverse weather for the Irish Coast Guard’s search and rescue helicopter which is based at the airport as well as for the Irish Aer Corps and two other pilot training organisations which use the facility.
A report by an inspector with An Bord Pleanála noted that the 24m-high mast would be over 5.5m above the maximum height of structures allowed within the airport’s inner horizontal surface.
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