TENBY Town Council-backed plans for a new 4G/5G mobile phone mast at Tenby’s Kiln Park have been conditionally approved.

Freshwave Facilities Limited, through its agent Perry Williams Ltd, applied to the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park for a base station at Kiln Park, Haven Holiday Park, Marsh Road.

The scheme proposed, which aims to improve the service provision for Vodafone, includes a 23.14m monopole supporting six antennas along with associated ground-based cabinets at a play area in the holiday park, which will be relocated.

Plans for the Vodaphone mast at Kiln Park
Plans for the Vodaphone mast at Kiln Park (Freshwave Facilities Limited/Perry Williams Ltd application to PCNPA)

Freshwave said in its supporting statement: “Freshwave are a neutral host provider who work to provide infrastructure for operators to share around the UK. The UK Wireless Infrastructure Strategy, published in April, 2023, supports network densification through neutral host providers, such as Freshwave.”

The strategy says: “5G brings with it the need to deploy higher bandwidth services using higher frequency spectrum. This means that mobile base stations will have to be places closer together, also known as network densification.

The applicants’ supporting statement continued: “The site is needed to provide improved 2G/4G/5G coverage and capacity for Vodafone, to ensure that their customers have access to the latest technologies currently available.”

The application shows that 2100MHz coverage would improve across for much of Tenby and the surrounding area.

The proposed mast would be sited on an area of managed amenity grassland adjacent to the existing outdoor swimming pool and children’s play area within the holiday park. An officer’s report recommending approval said the chosen location “avoids intrusion into undeveloped coastal landscape, and benefits from the containment provided by surrounding buildings and mature vegetation.”

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The report concluded: “The limited and localised visual impacts are outweighed by the wider public benefits of improved 4G coverage and future 5G capability for residents, businesses and visitors within Tenby and the surrounding area.”