Doubt over benefits of new Dartmoor phone mast

Site visit arranged as locals say new mast not needed

A new mobile phone mast on Dartmoor could allow communication with the emergency services in some of Devon’s remotest places.

But some local people say they haven’t been consulted, and the new mast won’t make any difference to mobile signal in their area. They also claim it will be ‘of little benefit but significant harm’.

Members of Dartmoor National Park Authority want to see the site for themselves before making a decision, and will visit later this month.

At a meeting of their development management committee, they were debating an application from BT and EE for a 20-metre tower with nine antennae and two dishes on it, plus a generator.

If built, the mast on open land at Challamoor Field between Widecombe and Buckland in the Moor will be part of the new Emergency Services Network which promises new 4G coverage for the 999 services, as well as better cover for local households.

People will be able to access all commercial network providers to call the emergency services.

Members were told there is a clear need for a better network, and the benefits of the new mast would outweigh the harm caused.

But David Burke of the Buckland Parish Meeting said there had not been enough consultation, and an existing site at Widecombe would fit the bill rather than putting up a new mast.

A parish meeting last year voted overwhelmingly against the mast, saying it was unnecessary and an alternative site is already in use. A report from the meeting went on: “The proposed site seems to be of little benefit but significant harm to Buckland in the Moor and we don’t really understand why, if Widecombe needs this coverage, the existing site in Widecombe cannot be used?”

However, Norman Gillon of EE told the national park authority: “The Home Office has been looking for a site here since 2016. The proposal is a balance and we understand that not everybody is happy with it.”