Coventry City Council refuses plans for 65ft phone mast disguised as tree

Plans for a 65ft phone mast disguised as a tree have been refused by Coventry City Council, which cited concerns it would result in a “highly conspicuous, visually discordant development”.

The plans for the mast in the city’s Wyken area, originally submitted in 2024, had previously been refused when planners were informed of concerns about the pole’s height and how it would contrast with the surrounding buildings in the area.

As a result, revised plans for the mast included what was described as a “cypress tree” design in an attempt to alleviate concerns from both the council and locals.

A replica ‘tree mast’ has been chosen so as to not detract from the existing features in the surrounding area, ensuring the tree mast does not dominate the skyline and will assimilate into the existing landscape

Telephone mast planning application

The plans stated: “It is considered the move away from the ‘large steel structure’ to the tree mast would significantly reduce the prominence and visual impact of the proposed site.

“A replica ‘tree mast’ has been chosen so as to not detract from the existing features in the surrounding area, ensuring the tree mast does not dominate the skyline and will assimilate into the existing landscape.”

Concept diagrams of the plans appeared to show the mast decorated with relatively short branches extending outwards in neatly placed rows up the ‘tree’, while the branches at the top appeared to have been shortened and angled upwards in order to give a ‘Christmas Tree’ effect, and to obscure the headframe at the top of the mast.

A similar plan came to fruition in 2022 in South Queensferry around 10 miles north of Edinburgh. While the town’s 82ft mast was built, many locals and media organisations came to unceremoniously dub the mast as looking like a “toilet brush”.

Trying to mask the appearance of the mast as a cypress tree draws more attention to the mast

Coventry City Council refusal notice

There were also concerns at Coventry City Council that “the proposal would be contrary to Policies C2 and DE1 of the Coventry Local Plan 2017 and the advice contained within the National Planning Policy Framework”.

Policy C2 regulates telecommunications structures, while DE1 regulates ‘design quality’, with one of its main goals being that “all development proposals must respect and enhance their surroundings and positively contribute towards the local identity and character of an area”.

The council’s refusal notice continued: “Trying to mask the appearance of the mast as a cypress tree draws more attention to the mast, […] it would tower over adjacent trees at around double their height, therefore not assimilating with its surroundings. It is therefore an inappropriate response to the surrounding soft landscaping of significantly lower height.”