NEW INN residents are angry at the “eyesore” phone mast that has been erected in the centre of town.

A Vodafone mast has been erected to increase network coverage in an identified ‘not-spot’, but residents of New Inn are angry at its appearance after fences in the town had to be removed for “detrimental looks”.

The signal-booster’s planning was approved in March, 2018, following two failed attempts. The third was approved after the cabinets were moved away from a bus stop.

The original application, which proposed a 17.5 metre (57 feet) mast with three internal antennae, two 300 millimetre dishes and equipment cabinets, was refused in July, 2017, before a plan with a smaller pole returned to planners a month later.

The second application was refused over concerns with the cabinets being too close to the public footpath and obstructing any future expansion of the bus stop.

Some New Inn residents have accepted the mast, which was erected around midday yesterday, saying it is not different to a lamppost.

But Phil Hughes, also a resident, commented on a social media post: “I think you are missing the point, it seems it's one rule for one and one rule for another.

“This post started by saying that the van hire company 20 yards away was forced to take down a fence that protected the business, the fence was only about two metres high yet this mast is allowed without question and is approximately 15 to 20 m high.”

Natasha Cuff, a 32-year-old whose house is close to the mast, said: “We were apparently supposed to have had letters. They said 11 residents were asked if we wanted it or not and no one replied.

“But someone came our door and asked and we replied no we didn't want it.”

New Inn councillor Raymond Mills said: “Every councillor in New Inn objected to this mast. It would have been better placed in more rural place.”

Resident Luke Rawlings said: “It's no different to a lamppost and there are plenty of them that I don't hear anyone complain about.

“It's not as if its blocking a nice view and as stated before everyone will soon complain if they can't use their phone to upload pics ect just another reason for people to complain.”

A council spokesperson said: “The application was submitted on behalf of both Telefonica and Vodafone, and the information submitted with the application indicated that there are no opportunities to share existing masts to provide improved coverage in the area.

“Concerns were raised in terms of the visual impact, however, given the neighbourhood centre location of the site the impact would not be so significant as to justify refusing the application on this basis, and the application was approved by the council’s Planning Committee on 13 March 2018.”