Proposal for seafront mobile mast denied

A proposal to install a mobile phone mast on the rooftop of a building located on the seafront has been rejected. Brighton and Hove City Council’s planning committee declined the application, submitted on behalf of EE and Three, for St Margaret’s Court, situated at the southern end of Rottingdean High Street. The committee was informed that the antenna was intended to replace an “emergency” mast, which had been erected in the nearby Marine Cliffs car park, on Marine Drive. This emergency tower was put in place after the previous mast was removed to allow for the refurbishment of the White Horse pub and hotel. Councillor Bridget Fishleigh stated that the temporary structure must be removed by October of the following year and urged the phone companies to locate a more suitable site. Ms Fishleigh, who represents Rottingdean, remarked: “We are in a telephone mast merry-go-round in Rottingdean, a tower for an independent company was refused earlier in the year as well as two other masts.“The fact is that residents and businesses desperately need connectivity.” At Hove Town Hall on 4 December, she encouraged the applicant, Mobile Broadband Network Limited (MBNL), to contact her as they search for an appropriate location. She conveyed her understanding of why residents did not wish to have masts on their roofs. A report by planning officials had recommended the refusal of the application, and the committee subsequently voted to reject it by eight votes to two, as reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service. Locally listed St Margaret’s Court was constructed in 1938, designed by Richard Jones and built by Charles Neville’s Saltdean Estate Company. The same company also developed the grade II* listed Saltdean Lido and the grade II listed Ocean Hotel in Saltdean, both of which were also designed by Jones.