Tearful campaigners have celebrated victory in their fight against a Kirriemuir mobile phone mast.
An impassioned plea by one objector convinced Angus development standards committee to go against the recommendation of planning officials and refuse Telefonica’s plan for the 70-foot high structure at a haulage yard in Cortachy Road.
One councillor backing the bid said blocking the 4G mast plan would send out the signal that Angus is not “open for business” because of the poor rural connectivity already costing the area.
The committee voted 7-3 to refuse the mast after being swayed by the emotional speech by resident Lorna Wotherspoon, who said the siting of the structure would be “totally intolerable”.
She said: “Society and community is about people – we are the people who are going to have to live with this for the rest of our lives. I am begging you, don’t let this happen. I can’t find a way to live with this thing dominating where I live.”
An agent for the applicants said the mast was needed to provide 4G coverage to the whole of Kirriemuir and a suggestion to share an existing mast further east on Kirrie Hill was not feasible.
Arbroath councillor David Fairweather moved against the official approval recommendation, stating: “This is in the wrong place.
“I’m not trying to stop improvements in our telecommunications infrastructure, but I am looking after the residents of that area.”
Councillor Bill Duff, seconding a motion by committee convener Rob Murray to approve the application, said: “These things are always difficult and there is always a balance.
“I attended the Scottish Rural Parliament in Brechin in October and the biggest take away from that was that people were adamant that connectivity had to be improved – both broadband and mobile phone coverage.
“Mrs Wotherspoon made quite a powerful case, but if we want to help our rural economy we need to improve our connectivity.
“This is not an attractive site, it is a commercial haulage yard.
“It may not be the best site, but we cannot put this in the middle of a field and for me it is about keeping Angus open for business and trying to improve our connectivity.”
