'Not spot' Lake District emergency Haweswater mast approved

The mast will be built on a fell near Haweswater

Plans for a 15m-high (49ft) emergency services communications mast near a beauty spot have been approved.

The Lake District National Park Authority said the mast next to Haweswater would have "significant adverse visual impacts" but there was no other place for it.

The Home Office said it would plug "not spot" gaps in emergency services communication coverage.

It was opposed by Shap Parish Council and Friends of the Lake District.

The RSPB and Mardale Commoners' Association also objected, with one complaint being that the mast would "detract from the natural, wild and remote experience".

The mast is part of the Home Office's roll-out of a new Emergency Services Network (ESN) across England, Scotland and Wales, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

'Benefits outweigh harm'

Most of the ESN is provided by EE, but the Home Office is plugging gaps in coverage.

In a report, national park authority planner Phil Nicholls said one such "not spot" covers the upper end of Haweswater and a 4km (2.5 mile) stretch of the eastern shore road.

He said there was an "exceptional need" for the mast, which would cover all but 500m (1,600ft) of the "not spot", to "provide communications for emergency services in an area which otherwise would not have any coverage".

The mast and accompanying generator stone hut would be built on a section of fellside beside a layby and would be visible mainly to those on Lakeside Road and nearby footpaths, Mr Nicholls said.

"By the very narrowest of margins I consider that the benefits outweigh the harm," Mr Nicholls said.

Paul Turner, a county councillor and retired policeman who seconded approval of the proposal said: "It's essential that the emergency services are given the tools to do their job.

"It could soon be the end of so-called 'not spots' in the county."