Rose Street Mast
Posted on: May 12, 2026
Insufficient heritage and visual evidence prevents policy-compliant assessment of proposal.
Address: North Of 168 Rose Street Edinburgh
Proposal: Proposed Telecoms Appar
Reference: 26/01597/PATEL
Closing date for comments: Tue 12 May 2026
Determination date: Wed 10 Jun 2026
Result: Pending
Cockburn Response
The Cockburn Association acknowledges the need for modern telecommunications infrastructure and supports its delivery where it is appropriately designed and sensitively located.
However, within the World Heritage Site, proposals must meet a significantly higher threshold of justification, evidence and design quality, as required by NPF4 Policy 7 (Historic Assets and Places), Policy 14 (Design, Quality and Place), and City Plan 2030 Policy HE1 (World Heritage Site) and Policy D1 (Quality and Design of Development).
In this case, the application does not provide:
- adequate visualisations demonstrating impact on the townscape
- a clear assessment of heritage impact
- evidence that alternative, less visually intrusive options have been explored
These are fundamental requirements, not optional supporting material.
As submitted, the application does not provide sufficient information to enable a meaningful assessment of its impact or its compliance with development plan policy.
The Cockburn Association therefore considers that:
- the application should not proceed to determination in its current form; and
- the necessary visual, heritage and site selection information should be provided and made publicly available prior to any formal assessment.
Only once this information is available can a balanced and policy-compliant planning judgement be reached.