Field at Lower Stakehill Farm, Stakehill Lane, Middleton, Manchester, M24 2SA

The proposed replacement base station installation includes a 25m high Swann lattice tower, with 6No. VF antennae and 2No. VF transmissions dishes, located within a 100sqm fenced compound

Authority: Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: telecoms · Other minor developments
Inspector: Storey P

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

The effect of the siting and appearance of the proposed installation on the character and appearance of the area, including the significance of designated heritage assets, and if any harm would occur, whether this is outweighed by the need for the installation to be sited as proposed taking into account any suitable alternatives

What decided it

The substantial public benefits of maintaining mobile network continuity and delivering enhanced 5G coverage, combined with evidence that the appeal site was operationally necessary and no materially better alternative existed, outweighed the limited less-than-substantial harm to heritage assets and character and appearance.

Framework references: 122, 123, 212, 215

Plan policies cited: Policy P1, Policy P2, Policy P3, Policy DM1, Policy JP-P1, Policy JP-P2, Policy JP-C2

Read the decision letter on the Inspectorate’s site

The main issues and the deciding factor are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.

What an account adds

Draw a red line around your site and the appraisal follows.

Heritage. Listed buildings by grade and distance, conservation areas, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, heritage at risk.
Landscape and environment. Green belt, national parks and national landscapes, SSSIs, ancient woodland, SPA, SAC and Ramsar sites, nutrient catchments.
Flooding. Flood zones 2 and 3, surface water, and both again with climate change.
Transport. The 800 metre station catchment and service frequency, bus stops with their weekday frequency, the cycle network, and the Framework’s transport tests measured for the site.

Then the development plan position, the housing land supply as an Inspector last accepted it, and every appeal decided around the site with its letter.

Every English appeal since 2016, with the letter behind it wherever the Inspectorate published one. Searched by meaning as well as by words, with the key case law counted live across the letters.

Casework that chases the deadlines. Applications, appeals and conditions with their statutory dates.

The judgement stays yours. The tool gathers the material and dates it.