Sunderland 5G base station plans approved

Plans were approved for a 20-metre (66-foot) tall mast and a “5G mobile base station”.

Sunderland City Council’s planning department backed the application for the site, off Pallion New Road.

The facility will be built close to the Lisburn Terrace industrial estate and Sunderland LGV Driver Training Centre, and adjacent to residential parkland on Corning Road.

The plans, submitted by Cellnex UK Limited earlier this year, aim to upgrade the existing communications infrastructure at the site, including installing larger antenna masts and new equipment.

A cover letter accompanying the application said the application had been made “on behalf of EE Ltd and Hutchison 3G UK Ltd, together with Mobile Broadband Network Limited”, and sought to build “5G mobile base stations”.

A planning statement confirmed this will include replacing existing equipment to “facilitate 5G technology and enable improved service delivery”.

The company added that it is based in “commercial areas where there is high demand for mobile network services.”

Planners added that the “least visually intrusive solution” of upgrading the existing site was proposed and would “remove the need to deploy additional base stations within the cell search area”.

Sunderland City Council’s planning department approved it on Friday after considering the application. Local Democracy News Service He said.

In their decision report, council planners said the site would be partly concealed by existing trees and would have a “negligible impact on the local landscape”.

It was also argued that “the industrial context further justifies the installation of replacement and additional equipment at existing telecommunications facilities.”