Bere Ferrers Parish Council has issued initial support for a new mobile phone mast to be built on the Bere Peninsula.

The council’s support however will remain contingent on Atlas Tower Group, the provider who has approached them, providing clear plans identifying a specific location for the proposed mast and a visit to this site with multiple councillors.

At the most recent Bere Ferrers Parish Council meeting last Tuesday (May 30), councillors discussed the ambiguity of an initial Google Earth screengrab provided to them by Atlas and how this did not clearly identify a specific location for the proposed mast. A pinpoint appeared to show it in the more north westerly region of the peninsula, near Bere Alston train station and Collins Farm.

Parish council chair Peter Crozier noted that whilst there is already a mast erected in this vicinity, this is used solely for railway communications. He said: ‘In principle, I’ll be in favour. One thing that’s fairly consistent is people moaning about mobile coverage in Bere Alston and its surrounding areas. The case for our community is not invalid.’

Cllr Dotty King subsequently agreed, saying: ‘The system needs to be better. We have a lot of diabetics now who rely on signal and people who regularly use mobile phones and require internet coverage for many reasons. There’s a need both here and all across the country.’

Whilst in agreement that coverage on the peninsula required improvement, councillors also discussed provisional concerns such as the mast’s height, the number of mobile networks that would be served, 5G coverage and the possibility of (a) red light/s blinking on the structure throughout the night.

Councillors agreed to contact Atlas asking for a specific location for the mast to be clearly established and for a meeting to then be held at this site before any further approval could be confirmed.