Plans submitted for 25m tall Vodafone 5G mast next to Lytham St Annes High School

Vodafone has lodged plans for the 5G mast to be built next to Lytham St Annes High School and Ansdell Medical Centre on Albany Road.

The land where the mast could be built is part of a car park for the former Lytham Sixth Form College. Four car parking spaces would make way for the mast.

The proposed installation will include a telecommunications base station which consists of a 25m lattice tower supporting three antennas, two 30cm dishes, and two cabinets.

Williams Acquisition Ltd, working on behalf of Vodafone, have already sent letters to councillors and the headteacher of the high school explaining why the mast is 'necessary'.

A spokesman for the firm said: "The site provider at Blackpool & The Fylde College has served the operator with a notice to quit. In order to avoid a situation where there is no coverage for Vodafone in this busy location, there is an urgent need to provide replacement coverage as soon as possible, as the operator’s customers will soon be unable to utilize their handheld devices in this cell area, once the existing site is decommissioned contrary to the operator’s legal requirements to provide a service and the customers reasons for purchasing their handheld devices."

A spokesman for Vodafone said: "As part of Vodafone's continued network improvement program, there is a specific requirement for a replacement installation at this location to provide equivalent and improved 2G, 3G and 4G coverage, ensuring this area of the Fylde coast maintains access to the latest technologies.

"It later added: "The Covid-19 pandemic has created unparalleled demand and pressure on the operator's network while people try to keep life and the economy moving through isolation and containment measures, with people working from home or remotely.

"This is a perfect example of why the operator must continue with its rollout as streamlined as is possible."

The plans will now be considered by Fylde Council's planning officers