East Dunbartonshire Council has received a planning application for a new 25-metre phone mast in Kirkintilloch’s Langmuir Road.

The application is from Icon Tower Infrastructure Group, which intends to replace its existing 15-metre mast at the Braes of Yetts Farm site with a new, larger one along with related equipment including seven new cabinets. Much of the equipment currently on site will be removed as part of this application.

The mast will be topped with 12 antennae and four communications dishes, with existing mast cannot support the required equipment to improve connectivity.

In a supporting letter Icon Tower states that the upgrade is required as the current mast cannot provide the level of connectivity required for future use.

Icon Tower is a UK subsidiary of Radius Global Infrastructure, an international company which leases sites for electronic communications in 21 countries around the world, developing sites for other companies such as network operators to install their equipment.

Icon Tower was granted Electronic Communications Code recognition from OFCOM quite recently, in January 2022, as it believed it would bring two public benefits, specifically helping to drive investment and market competition, while also promoting the sharing of sites by different operators, with this sharing of sites designed to mitigate the visual impact of continued expansion of telecomms infrastructure.

A statement from the applicant adds: “Supporting this application will not only secure investment in a high-quality infrastructure asset for the community but also ensure that the mast is deployed by a Code Operator focussed on maximising the use of that infrastructure to enable ongoing improvements to connectivity over the long term.”

Further information on the planning application can be found on East Dunbartonshire Council’s website under the reference number TP/ED/23/0501.