• Confirmation of situation with temporary telecom mast on Builyeon Rd
What will be happening ?
The temporary mast will be removed hopefully no later than commencing 12th Feb.
What happened ?
MBNL were required to relocate their permanent telecom mast on Builyeon Rd opposite McDonalds/ BP due to the planning permission granted for the Builyeon Rd mixed use development.
They have applied for permission to move the mast to Dundas Farm, however that permission has not been decided by CEC as yet.
Concerned over maintaining coverage, MBNL decided to erect a temporary mast. This, it transpires, can be done without planning application or local consultation.
However, MBNL did notify CEC in advance.
Regrettably CEC chose not to inform the local community as they have no legal obligation to do so, a situation we find highly unsatisfactory to say the least and have made that clear to CEC at various levels. We await an official response having escalated the very disappointing reply from the responsible CEC officer.
When the mast installation was brought to our attention QDCC contacted a number of stakeholders, including Cala, who also knew nothing about it, and MBNL.
Glad to say that this resulted in discussions directly between MBNL and Cala and an agreement to postpone the removal of the existing permanent mast until the end of 2021, giving time to establish a new location. This now negates the need for the temporary mast.
The lack of local engagement by City of Edinburgh Council, before and during this installation has been very disappointing and a matter QDCC will now pursue. Consultation in advance would have saved a lot of resource and cost to various stakeholders.
From MBNL…..
I’m really relieved to say that we/our existing landlords (Cellnex UK)/Cala Homes have now worked up a solution whereby we can remain on the existing site for a little while longer. This means that we will be able deconstruct the temporary mast on Buliyeon Road. The decommissioning will hopefully commence no later than the 12th February, sooner if possible.
Whilst this is really good news, regrettably it doesn’t detract from our urgent need to seek a permanent location for the mast. Failure to succeed with our application will lead us full circle and needing a temporary solution, and I am desperate to avoid this situation again.