Rejection urged for phone mast

Officials have recommended that a south Devon council turns down plans for a controversial 14.4m (47ft) phone mast.

Residents fear that the mast, which Vodafone wants to site in a field overlooking the sea at Teignmouth, would be a blot on the landscape.

A mast owned by O2 is just 50m (164 ft) away from the proposed site on Higher Holcombe Farm.

South Devon District Council's planning committee will meet on Monday to decide whether to approve the application.

Council officers say Vodafone should consider sharing the current mast, but Vodafone says this would require an unacceptable increase in the height of the mast.

The company also says that another option suggested by officers, locating the new mast right next to the present one, to reduce its visual impact, would result in potential interference.

If councillors vote to reject the proposal, the applicants have the right to appeal.