The temporary planning permission granted to EE for the telecom tower that has graced our central carpark for the past couple of years has run out and the operators are in a bit of a fix.
This month they have submitted an appeal against the decision of Swale Borough Council to
“refuse Prior Approval for the installation of an 18m high monopole supporting six antenna apertures and two transmission dishes, along with the installation of seven ground based equipment cabinets and development ancillary thereto on land at Central Carpark”.
Basically, they want to leave the mast where it is permanently. Faversham Town Council has opposed the application and it is certainly true that it is currently an eyesore in the setting
of Faversham’s historic town centre.
Just down Abbey Street from the Market Place stands St Mary of Faversham with its 46m open crown spire built in about 1795.
A possible solution to EE’s problem which would also raise much needed funds for the church would be to house the transmitting and receiving equipment in the unused open part of the spire.
The ground-based equipment cabinets could comfortably be accommodated in the adjacent graveyard by simply moving a few graves.
What a wonderful example the town would be setting in the words of The Faversham Society we would be:
“Cherishing the Past, Adorning the Present and Creating for the Future”
