A controversial plan to erect a mobile cell tower has been approved by the Development Applications Board.

The application by Digicel proposes the installation of a 65ft “cell-site on wheels”, capable of extending to 100ft, at 49 South Road, Devonshire.

An almost identical proposal for the same site garnered more than 200 letters of objection from the public, who expressed concern about the health implications of the tower.

While that application was approved by the DAB, it was subsequently refused planning permission by Home Affairs Minister Michael Fahy on appeal. During that appeal process, an independent planning inspector found that radio frequency (RF) exposure from the tower would be 130 times lower than limits set by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), but recommended that permission be refused as Digicel had not provided evidence that co-location with other towers was not possible.

The new plan — which included a co-location study — was received by the Planning Department in February.

According to the minutes of the DAB’s April 29 meeting, technical officers said that the study was included to demonstrate that co-location had been investigated and was not deemed feasible.

The minutes stated: “The technical officer stated that one of the reasons the applicant, Digicel, could not ‘co-locate’ with CellOne is because CellOne uses the 850MHz spectrum and Digicel has not yet received authorisation from the Regulatory Authority to operate on this band.

“The Board queried the status of this permission and the technical officer stated that it was unknown at this time when authorisation would be granted.”

The DAB approved the application, but reiterated the need for a guidance note to assist the DAB by determining the acceptable number of cell towers in an area, along with a radio frequency monitoring plan to ensure there is not a detrimental impact to the public.

“In this regard, current and continually updated data from the Regulatory Authority to track the telecommunications tower and other installations throughout the island network is required.”