A TEN-metre high telecommunications mast for Selborne has been given the thumbs up by district planners.

The applicant, LCC Airwave, submitted plans to East Hampshire District Council for the mast to be sited temporarily at Temple Manor in Sotherington Lane.

It will be used to support the Airwave network roll-out programme for the new digital emergency services network. It will support three antennae and one transmission dish. A generator with a fuel storage tank and an equipment cabin with ancillary equipment is also included in the plans.

EHDC case officer Stuart Walburn granted planning permission for the mast under his delegated powers.

"The site is requested for a 12-month temporary period until a permanent site is progressed in the local area at Temple Hill," his report stated.

"The temporary mast would serve the Selborne and Blackmoor area and the site is positioned within the designated National Park boundary - East Hampshire Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

"The site is well screened by a mature orchard and cannot be seen from the roadside. I doubt very much that the mast would be easily identifiable from either of the settlements located towards the east and west of the site.

"There is concern that the proposal would be located in a landscape sensitive area, a landscape now being acknowledged for its special landscape quality through designation as National Park."

Mr Walburn pointed out, however, that the proposal was a great deal smaller than standard mast applications and it was only because of the AONB location that it could not be treated as "a prior notification".

He considered that the mast was an important requirement for the locality. "The redeeming feature of the scheme, given the location of the mast, is the smaller scale of the proposal which, it must be stressed, are usually at least 15 metres with antennae to top.

"The siting is for a limited 12-month period which provides time for a permanent solution to be considered. There is an acknowledged importance to activate the network by autumn 2003 and the need for temporary sites is a requirement for the system to operate."

He added: "These three aspects of consideration are felt significant enough to warrant a 12-month temporary permission."