Win for rural communities as number of telecoms masts scaled back

Press Release

Rural business organisation Scottish Land & Estates (SLE) has welcomed the update from the Shared Rural Network project, indicating that the number of 4G masts planned in remote areas of Scotland will be scaled back from 258 to 44.

Following pressure from SLE and partner organisations including community councils, the John Muir Trust and Mountaineering Scotland,  fewer masts will now be installed.

The announcement protects some of Scotland’s most beautiful and unspoilt landscapes from unnecessary and costly infrastructure installations, but SLE has urged the UK government not to forget those communities still without a mobile network. 

Anna Gardiner, Senior Policy Adviser (Business and Property), Scottish Land & Estates, said: 

“We are delighted that the government has listened to our concerns and has scaled back the number of masts to be built in areas where they simply were not needed. This protects some of our most spectacular and beautiful landscapes and will alleviate pressure on planning authorities in rural areas.

“The original plan was totally flawed as it was based on covering an arbitrary percentage of the UK’s geography, but in fact it did not benefit many of the rural communities and businesses which are currently in Total Not Spot Areas – where there is no 4G coverage from any provider. These areas are still crying out for a mobile network and in many cases community councils have been ignored. We would urge the UK government to redirect the considerable sum of money that has been saved, in order to prioritise these communities.”

Thomas Widrow, head of campaigns for the John Muir Trust, said: 

“This is great news for the amazing landscapes and biodiversity of Scotland. Some of the proposed locations for a mast were completely inappropriate. We need to ensure there is connectivity where people live and work, not in our most fragile and remote wild places.”

Catriona Davies, from Mountaineering Scotland, commented: 

“Tens of thousands of people enjoy hillwalking, climbing and ski touring in Scotland and care passionately about the unique character of the hills and mountains they spend so much time in. The wild qualities of these landscapes should be preserved for the benefit of nature and people. We will continue to closely monitor the remaining planning proposals to ensure that they meet the needs of local communities, whilst protecting the mountain environment.”

The Shared Rural Network programme is a collaboration between the UK Government and four big mobile phone operators (EE, O2, Three and Vodafone) which aims to achieve 95 per cent 4G mobile phone coverage across Britain.

Several community councils across the Highland region and organisations including the National Trust for Scotland, Ramblers Scotland and Woodland Trust Scotland, had joined SLE in the call to revise the roll-out of the infrastructure.