Plans for a proposed new 5G phone mast in Northwich have been knocked back due to concerns over its height and location.

Clarke Telecom had sought pre-planning approval for a new mast at the footway of Moor Park Way in Kingsmead. The plans would have included a 20 metre high mast with six antennas, along with two equipment cabinets, electric meter cabinet and a GPS module. The application also included a document about 5G which sought to allay health fears.

Full planning approval is not needed for a mast under 30 metres according to government guidelines, but pre-planning approval is still required.

A covering letter sent in with the application said the planned location was the most suitable option that 'balanced the operational need with local and national policy'.

An additional document submitted with the plans entitled ‘5G Masts and Health’, called it a ‘generation leap in mobile technology’ with multiple benefits.

It said: “With new technology it is understandable that people wish to seek reassurance as to its safety and how it works. The UK’s telecoms regulator Ofcom carried out tests at 5G-enabled mobile masts across the country.

"The highest emission levels (e.g. radiation) recorded at mobile phone masts were consistently well within the strict safety guidelines that monitor radiation levels.”

But Cheshire West and Chester’s planning department rejected the pre-planning application, saying the mast would appear ‘unduly prominent’ in the planned location.

It said: “The proposed mast and cabinets would appear unduly prominent in this locality due to the mast's excessive height and bulky ground based equipment being highly visible, emphasised by the openness close to the junction at which it would be sited.

“In addition, insufficient evidence has been submitted to justify the proposed development with regards to more suitable alternative sites in less sensitive locations.”