Plan to replace ancient church panels with plastic

St Francis of Assisi Church in High Wycombe has antennas in its tower

Plastic panels could replace part of a listed church tower because of new mobile phone antennas being installed.

EE has applied for planning permission to install six new antennas inside the tower of St Francis of Assisi Church in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.

It also wants to replace the louvres - slanted panels which prevent rain getting into the tower - with replicas made of glass-reinforced plastic.

The telecommunications firm said the upgrade to the Grade II listed tower would be as sensitive as possible.

'Stop pigeons'

St Francis of Assisi, which was built in 1930, is the only church in Buckinghamshire designed by prominent architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, designer of the red telephone box and Tate Modern.

The plans include the installation of a small external GPS node on the eastern side of the building, and the replacement of the existing tower louvres with specially moulded replicas made of glass-reinforced plastic.

EE says this would allow the necessary signal transmission.

Church warden Peter Gee said rain sometimes came into the bell tower through the original louvres.

The existing antennas were installed in 2010.

"Water incursion has always been a problem in that building," said Mr Gee.

"The tower is so far above the ground, it won't look that different. It might also help stop pigeons getting in."

In 2018, the Church of England entered into an agreement with the government to use church spires to boost mobile and broadband coverage in rural areas. Each one remains subject to planning permission.

Historic England had also supported the installation of broadband-boosting antennas at St Francis of Assisi as "the least harmful way to gain the benefit of improved broadband".

But the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings said installing aerials and the necessary cabling could potentially be "very damaging" and alternative sites should be used where there is a risk of permanent damage to a building's historical fabric.

EE said customers expected reliable phone service in all locations and that the upgrade would help meet that demand.