PEOPLE have until June 23 to register their comments with East Hampshire District Council (EHDC) planners concerning a proposal by planning consultants Pegasus Group, in partnership with Shared Access, to install a telecommunications mast on the play area at the top of Northanger Close, off Greenfields Avenue, in Alton.

While this is not a planning application, prior notification has been lodged with EHDC flagging up a proposal by property company and telecommunications code system operator Shared Access to install a 12-and-a-half metre climbable monopole to support six telecommunications antennae which, together with the installation of two dishes and four ground-based equipment cabinets, would provide 2G, 3G and 4G mobile electronic communication services to the area.

This would be expected to improve coverage for other existing technologies and provide exceptionally fast internet to residents and businesses.

According to a letter from the Pegasus Group, circulated to residents living in the immediate vicinity of the proposed mast, Shared Access has been working with Alton Town Council, as the owner of the land, to provide a scheme with a structure that will not exceed 12-and-a-half metres, this being the minimum height possible to achieve the required radio coverage.

The need for the new telecommunications equipment has arisen following the imminent decommissioning of an existing mast on the now redundant Molson Coors Brewery site on Lower Turk Street, which provides coverage to Three and EE customers.

The Pegasus statement went on: “Without a replacement structure there will be a coverage ‘black hole’ across the area. The proposal for the new installation will ensure that the level of mobile coverage is maintained.”

Specialising in developing telecommunications infrastructure, Shared Access has built or acquired, owns and manages approximately 500 similar sites across the UK and Ireland.

While the Pegasus Group consultation has already closed, residents are still able to register their comments online with East Hampshire District Council – at easthants.gov.uk using the ‘planning’ link and entering reference number 57203.

While Alton Town Council, as the landowner and leasor, has declined to comment to the district council on the proposal, some residents have expressed concern over the close proximity of the telecommunications mast to local households, citing potential health risks, in particular to children.

There is concern too that the closeness of the mast could devalue property in the area.

Residents are asking for the mast to be moved further back, away from the houses and the children’s play area.