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Bronze Age burial site scuppers Harpur Hill phone mast

Buxton residents will continue to have ‘poor’ mobile signal after High Peak Council refused to grant prior planning approval for a new 5G phone mast.

 Despite overwhelming support from locals, HPBC turned down the early-stage application because developers Icon Tower Infrastructure couldn’t show that the 25m-tall mast wouldn’t "adversely affect" a Bronze Age burial site. 

The land off Harpur Hill Road was earmarked to provide stronger signal for homes and businesses in the town, but its close proximity to Fox Low Bowl Barrow – a Scheduled Ancient Monument (SAM) that contains human remains – saw the council’s planning department intervene. 

“The application, as submitted, fails to demonstrate that the height, siting and appearance would not adversely affect the setting of the schedule ancient monument,” read HPBC’s decision. 

“Notwithstanding the acceptability of the proposal from a landscape perspective, the site is immediately adjacent to the Fox Low Bowl Barrow which a Scheduled Ancient Monument.  

“The application documentation makes no reference to the proximity of this important heritage asset and accordingly the level of heritage harm to the SAM has not been assessed. This is contrary to local plan policy EQ7 and the NPPF.” 

This means Harpur Hill will remain a ‘not spot’ – an area with weak or no mobile signal – unless the developers appeal with concessions made to the barrow or identify another site. 

The lack of signal also affects other technologies such as smart meters and real-time tracking information at bus stops. 

Another telecommunications mast in the area is from the 3G era, cannot be upgraded, and still wouldn’t be tall enough to cover Harpur Hill. 

Mobile signal on two-thirds of land within a 1.5km radius is deemed to be ‘poor’, in part because of tree coverage and the size of the hill. 

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