Plan for 79 foot tall phone mast on Laois bus company's land

A telecommunications company is seeking permission to erect a permanent 79 foot tall mobile phone mast in Mountmellick, Laois, on a site owned by a local bus company.

Vantage Towers Limited has lodged a planning application with Laois County Council to erect a 24 metre tall lattice tower, in Irishtown, Mountmellick.

It is proposed on a site owned by Horan Bus Hire, behind the Applegreen service station on the N80 Portlaoise road.

The mast will be surrounded by a 6 metre square palisade fence enclosure, 2.4m steel high. 

The applicants say that Vantage Towers Ltd, created by the Vodaphone Group, already owns 1,300 masts in Ireland. 

They say the mast will improve mobile phone coverage in the area, offering both 2G, 4G and 5G services, which they say are "inadequate" for current and future needs. It will hold multiple antennae and dishes.

Vantage say that the site is "the only realistic site available".

"It is acknowledged that there will be some visual impact. However the location is not unduly intrusive and is not within a protected area." 

They say the site is zoned for enterprise and employment.

The nearest protected structure they say is Anngrove House, but it is 300m away and they say this distance and the obstacles between them will mean there will be no impact.  The applicants also say the site is away from areas prone to flooding.

The details are on Laois County Council's website. A planning decision is due in early April.