WIREDGOV

Cllr Mark Hawthorne, Chairman of the Local Government Association's People and Places Board, responds to the announcement in yesterday’s Budget that planning laws will be relaxed to allow taller phone masts to be built.

"People should be able to have their say on whether a phone mast is put up near their homes or not. Planning controls exist to give them that power and protect residents from developments that could negatively impact on their quality of life.

"Instead, relaxing planning rules in this way will mean mobile network operators being able to build huge masts, more than 50ft in height, in places where local residents and councils will have no say.

"Councils are committed to boosting mobile phone coverage in remote communities and bridging the digital divide. However this must not come at the expense of the views of local people and to the detriment of local communities. Councils are keen to work with network providers to ensure local areas get the best possible coverage in a way that residents are happy with."