Agenda item

The Chairman welcomed Roger Bearpark (ICT Service Manager) and James Rodger (Head of Planning, Trading Standards & Enforcement) to the meeting. Members of the Committee thanked Officers for their support during this review. The Chairman of the Committee offered a special thanks to James Rodger for his help with the Planning aspects of the review.

Officers presented Members with the final report on “Mitigating the environmental effects of telecommunication masts and cabinets in the London Borough of Hillingdon and beyond.” Officers listed the report recommendations as follows:

i. Future Demand:

That the London Borough of Hillingdon Planning Service Officers monitor the development of wireless technology and industry updates and recommend to the Cabinet Member for Planning, Transportation & Recycling how the Council’s planning policies may need to be adapted;

ii. Technical

That the London Borough of Hillingdon’s Highways Department undertake periodic checks to ensure that masts and cabinets are sited whereagreed/specified in original application.

That the London Borough of Hillingdon’s Planning department works with Utility Operators to ensure that telecommunication and broadband cabinets are more secure;

That the London Borough of Hillingdon Planning Service requests that when Operators are asked to remove redundant masts and cabinet, they report such activity to the Local Authority Planning Department;

That the Head of Planning requests that operators, as part of their annual roll out plans, identify any obsolete equipment and a timescale for its removal;

That Hillingdon Planning department add a condition to mast approvals requiring obsolete equipment to be removed within one month. The Head of Planning has advised a condition wording which would ensure equipment is removed within one calendar month, thus removing the ambiguity: “All equipment not required for telecommunication purposes shall be removed from the site in its entirety and the site returned to its former state either within one calendar month of the equipment no longer being required or as soon as is reasonably practical, whichever is the sooner.”

iii. Planning

That the Head of Planning requests that all agents submitting applications on behalf of mobile phone operators be required to ensure that all planning proposal coverage maps submitted with proposals tally with the operators most up to date coverage charts;

That Hillingdon’s Corporate Property and Construction Service adopt a more flexible approach to the siting of masts and cabinets on Council owned land, with the Corporate Director for Planning, Environment, Education & Community Services arbitrating when a conflict of opinion is created between the Planning department and the Corporate Property and Construction Service;

That the telecommunications policy in the Development Management Document (DMD) which is being prepared as part of the Local Development Framework reflects the Committee’s recommendations;

That the department of Communities and Local Government is asked to provide more guidance to Local Planning Authorities on dealing with telecommunications infrastructure, taking into account the recommendations of this report;

The telecommunications operators submit with their International Commission on non-ionizing radiation protection (ICNIRP) certificates the signal strength and exclusion zone parameters with each planning application;

iv. Regulation

That Office for Communications (OFCOM) communicate their responsibilities under the Communications Act Section 73(3) to Local Authorities nationwide;

That the London Borough of Hillingdon Planning Department request OFCOM’s support in ensuring the sharing of telecommunication equipment;

v. Design

That the results of the ‘Street Art’ research exercise using funding from the Hillingdon Champion for the Arts be reported back to the Committee and act as a model for future design of telecommunications cabinets exercises;

That Local Authorities ask operators to prepare a catalogue of designs for masts and cabinets from which Local Authority Planning Department’s can choose a design appropriate to an area, particularly conservation and historic areas;

vi. Health

That the London Borough of Hillingdon use Freedom of Information (FOI) powers to require ICNIRP monitoring reports of a sample of existing masts in Hillingdon (from a limited sample of sites identified from the planning database) and to report back their findings to the RESPOC committee;

That OFCOM assume responsibility to independently verify that telecommunications operators are complying with ICNIRP health standard.

Members agreed that the recommendations reflected the conclusions of the review. The Chairman asked Officers to circulate photographs which could be placed on the front cover of the report. Officers advised Members that they would take photographs of Cabinets situated in the borough and send these through to the Committee.

Resolved:

• That Officers would circulate photographs which could be placed on the front page of the final report to Members.
• The Committee delegated authority to the Chairman and Labour Lead for final sign off following any minor amendments to the report
• The Committee agreed the RESPOC final report.