Objecting to a phone mast under prior approval

If you want to object to a phone mast application, the first thing to establish is what kind of application it is. Most new masts arrive as a prior approval submission under Part 16 of the General Permitted Development Order, not as a planning application. The principle of the mast has already been granted by national legislation. The council is deciding two things only: where it goes and what it looks like.

That narrows the ground, and it explains why objections about health, about property values or about whether the area needs better coverage are set aside no matter how many people send them.

What prior approval covers for a mast

Part 16 grants permitted development rights to electronic communications code operators for specified categories of apparatus, subject to the council's prior approval of siting and appearance. The height and dimension limits were widened by amendments in 2022, and they differ between ordinary land and protected land such as conservation areas, National Landscapes and National Parks, so check the current wording of Class A rather than an older summary.

The submission has to include a plan showing the proposed siting, details of the apparatus and its appearance, evidence of the required notification, and a declaration about compliance with international radiation exposure guidelines.

An operator relying on Part 16 is not asking the council whether the mast can go somewhere in the area. They are telling the council where they intend to put it, and inviting the council to say no to that location and that design.

Siting and appearance are the only grounds

Everything in a useful objection has to be framed as siting or appearance. That is less restrictive than it sounds, because both terms are read broadly.

Siting arguments that carry weight include the relationship to nearby dwellings and their outlook, the position relative to a listed building or a conservation area, the effect on a view identified in the local plan or a neighbourhood plan, the loss of trees or verge, the obstruction of a footway or a visibility splay at a junction, and the cumulative effect of clustering equipment cabinets on one corner.

Appearance arguments include the colour and finish, the number and arrangement of antennas and headframes, the slimness of the column, whether a shroud or a disguised design is available for that equipment, and the size and placement of the ground cabinets that come with it.

What does not count: the operator's commercial need, whether another network already covers the village, the perceived effect on house prices, and the strength of local feeling on its own. Councillors can take the volume of objections into account when deciding whether to call an item to committee, but the decision itself still turns on the two grounds.

Why health concerns are excluded

The submission must be accompanied by a declaration that the equipment, in operation, will comply with the guidelines of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection. National policy is explicit that where that declaration is provided, the local planning authority should not set its own health safeguards or question the science behind the guidelines.

Officers therefore cannot refuse a mast on health grounds where the declaration is in place, and an objection built on that argument will be recorded and then given no weight in the report.

That is frustrating for residents who feel strongly about it, and it is better to know before you write than after the decision. If the declaration is missing from the submission, that is a legitimate procedural point worth raising, because it is a requirement rather than a courtesy.

The 56 day period and what happens if it passes

The council has 56 days from receipt of a valid submission to notify the operator of its decision. Miss the deadline and the operator may proceed as submitted.

This matters for objectors in a practical way. The window for comments is short, often three weeks or less from the site notice going up, and the deadline is hard. A late objection on a planning application usually still reaches the officer. A late objection on a 56 day prior approval may arrive after the report has been signed.

Check the council's planning register for the application reference, the publicity end date and the target decision date on the day you find out about the proposal. Then write, rather than waiting to see what the parish council does.

Evidence about alternative sites

The strongest objections propose somewhere else. Operators are expected to explain why the chosen site was selected, and that explanation can be tested.

Look for three things in the supporting statement. Whether alternative sites were considered at all. Whether existing structures such as an industrial mast, a water tower, a pylon or an existing operator's column were assessed for sharing. And whether the reasons given for rejecting alternatives are technical or merely convenient.

If you know of a plausible alternative, name it precisely. A grid reference, a photograph, and a sentence about why it is less prominent will be quoted in the officer's report. A general statement that the mast should go somewhere in the industrial estate will not.

Site sharing carries particular weight because national policy expects operators to use existing masts and buildings where practicable. An objection that identifies an existing structure within the search area and asks why sharing was ruled out puts a specific question the operator has to answer.

Where full permission is needed instead

Some telecommunications development falls outside Part 16 and needs a full planning application, which opens up the full range of material considerations. That includes apparatus exceeding the permitted dimensions, some development on protected land, and works affecting a listed building, where listed building consent may also be required.

Check the description on the register. A submission described as an application for planning permission is not limited to siting and appearance, and an objection can then address landscape and visual impact, heritage significance and the development plan policies in the ordinary way. Where a proposal has a wider visual reach, the council can ask for a Townscape and Visual Impact Assessment rather than accepting a photomontage from one viewpoint.

Writing an objection that gets weight

Keep it short, specific and organised under the two headings the officer has to use.

1. State the application reference and your address in the first line.
2. Deal with siting: name the receptor, describe the view or the function affected, and give the distance.
3. Deal with appearance: describe what would be seen, from where, and what alternative design or finish you are asking for.
4. Propose an alternative location if you have one, with a grid reference or a marked plan.
5. Ask a direct question about site sharing if an existing structure is nearby.
6. Attach a photograph taken from the affected viewpoint.

Ask the parish or town council to submit its own response, because statutory consultee comments are reported separately. If the council operates a scheme allowing residents to address committee, register early, and use the time on the two grounds rather than on the network's commercial case. Understanding how consultation is meant to work is covered in our page on the Statement of Community Involvement.

You can see the full range of supporting documents councils ask for in the report index.

This is general guidance rather than legal advice. Check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it.