Replacement NATS radio tower approved despite environmental concerns

Application branded 'highly unprofessional' and 'farcical' by MWT

Plans for a replacement radio mast on Snaefell have been approved by the Planning Committee, despite a local wildlife charity branding the application 'sloppy and retrospective'.

The National Air Traffic Services (NATS) tower carries VHF (very high frequency) and UHF (ultra-high frequency) transmitters.

It provides air traffic coverage and hosts equipment for Manx Telecom, British Aerospace and the Coastguard.

The site is described as 'a key location for delivery of the UK’s regulated air navigation services, [and] its position at altitude in the middle of the Irish Sea represents one of the most arduous locations with respect to inclement weather'.

All four users provide 'critical civil/military aviation services, maritime surveillance, search and rescue coverage and mobile phone coverage for tourists on the mountain, the general public and for the public and motorbike racing officials as well as Manx Electric Railway staff.

At the Planning Committee meeting this week (Monday 17 August) the board were told the tower is 'essential to the life of the Island' as a result.

The 50-metre-high mast is currently a hybrid of a lattice type galvanised structure at the base and timber towards the top.

It is mounted with 19 NATS antennas, five Coastguard antennas, three Manx Telecom antennas and one BAE transmission dish.

The plan is for a replacement tower to be constructed next to the existing structure, which will be tested before operations are switched over and the former tower dismantled.

However, the Manx Wildlife Trust presented serious concerns about the ecological impact of the project.

The charity stated the application itself should be viewed as retrospective, as works had already started at the site, despite permission not being secured.

A representative said the plans were 'wholly lacking in ecological safeguards', were 'highly unprofessional' and 'farcical'.

The trust's concerns centred on the plant species in the area, and it argued that a botanical survey, undertaken by Ecology Vannin following a request from the Department of Environment Food and Agriculture (DEFA)'s Ecosystem Policy Team, didn't go far enough.

However, the plans were ultimately approved unanimously by the committee.

Chair of the committee, Rob Callister, said: "This is of too much importance to the Isle of Man as a whole to not support it."

Commenting on the fact work on an access road had already begun, Mr Callister added: "People should not start any works until an application has been approved."