Weeks of campaigning from Greenmount residents has finally paid off as Bury Council has refused plans for a 16 metre 5G mast on Coleridge Road.

The application aimed to bring residents in the village up to speed with the fastest, most modern form of mobile connectivity, but there was a significant backlash from people in Greenmount, particularly over the height and positioning of the mast.

Local councillors and Bury North MP James Daly joined residents in opposing this planning application, which received more than 150 objections on the Bury Council planning site, and have today been out informing residents of the news.

In a video released on Facebook, Cllr Liam James Dean said: “We have had confirmation today that the planning application has been refused.

“Thank you so much to everyone who joined me, Cllrs Khalid Hussain and Roger Brown, and our MP James Daly.

“Whether it was coming to the public meeting, putting your objections in or coming out delivering letters to residents with us – that has paid off!”

James Daly MP has previously stated: “There have been some unhelpful suggestions that the council are unable to reject this proposal due to national planning policy.

“This is simply not true. Councils are not able to outright ban mast building in their area, but they are absolutely able to reject applications based on normal planning concerns.”

Mr Daly’s comments were confirmed when a report was published on Friday, 14 October, by Bury Council’s Senior Planning Officer, stating the application was refused and detailed the reasons for this.

In the 14-page report from the Senior Council Planning Officer details many of the comments and reasons residents and local elected representatives had put forward as to why this application should be rejected.

Included in the Conditions and Reasons section, the planning officer notes: “The proposed development, by virtue of its height, position and design in an exposed location with a long range of visibility, would have a significant adverse impact on the character and appearance of the area and on the visual amenities of residential occupiers.

“The proposal would, therefore, be contrary to Bury Unitary Development Plan policies.”

Local Councillors sent a letter to residents today informing them of the decision to refuse this planning application.

They advised that should residents have any questions on the issue or to be informed of any updates on this case, they can go to the Bury Conservatives' website.

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