NATIONAL park planners have recommended the approval of mobile masts to increase mobile phone coverage in Dyffryn Ardudwy.

Vodafone have applied for permission to erect a new 17.5m pole supporting three antennas and two dishes on land at The Barns, Ffordd Tyddyn y Felin, Talybont.

Planners said that “proposals of this type will only be permitted providing that they do not significantly harm the visual appearance and character of the area or adversely affect the ‘special qualities’ of the national park and the amenity of the people living close to the site.”

A report said: “With this type of development, it is inevitable that the proposed structure is partly visible from public places due to the need for it to be in open location to ensure that it is working to full capacity.

“However, in this case it is deemed that there is an existing natural background with traditional stone walls and mature trees and hedges when looking at the site from the roadside.

“Although the site is in open countryside, the nearby area is residential with a number of various houses so a number of narrow, high structures already exist in the area, such as electricity poles and street lighting.”

Two letters of objection were received from nearby residents on health grounds and “the prominence of the site from the road”.

Natural Resources Wales said the “development can be accommodated with minor adverse impact upon the natural character of the national park”.

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