A PLAN to install a 25-metre-high 5G phone mast at Long Lee has been refused due to its potential impact on the green belt.

Icon Tower Infrastructure Limited had applied to Bradford Council for permission to replace an existing ten-metre-tall phone tower sited at the Aire View Equestrian Centre.

The replacement would include 12 antennas, four dishes and six cabinets, and have a 2.4m-high fence around it.

The applicant said the new facility was required due to the existing mast being "unsuitable for the necessary upgrade of equipment", adding "the proposed mast will future-proof the site as it has the capacity to host multiple operators’ equipment and the ability to host 5G technologies – which the existing mast lacks".

But planning officers said a nearby mast had recently been increased in height.

A council spokesperson said: "The application has not provided an assessment on potential mast sharing or justification for the upgrade in light of the recent large mast to the east.

"The proposed mast would extend substantially above the trees and would also require some significant removal to accommodate the enlarged compound and installation of fencing and cabinets. The additional infrastructure would harm the openness of the green belt."