Telecoms Mast Cowgate

Cockburn Response

The Cockburn Association supports the provision of modern telecommunications infrastructure where it is appropriately designed, sensitively located and fully justified.

However, within the World Heritage Site, proposals must meet a significantly higher threshold of:

• evidence and visual assessment
  • heritage justification
  • demonstration of least-impact solutions
  • design quality appropriate to the sensitivity of the site

In this case, the application does not provide:

• adequate visualisations demonstrating impact on the townscape
  • a clear and proportionate heritage impact assessment
  • 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.