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We are delighted that Shropshire Council’s planners have rejected an application for a 15-metre-high telecommunications mast with ancillary equipment on Mucklewick Hill in the Shropshire Hills National Landscape.
The site of the proposed mast, looking south. The borehole position is bottom right, and the landscape on the right-hand third of the picture would have been ruined. The hills in the background are Cefn Gunthley and Heath Mynd, with the Black Mountains in the far distance. Photo: Ian Kidd.
The hill is 15 miles south-west of Shrewsbury, and six miles north-east of Bishops Castle in south Shropshire.
The society, the Shropshire Area of the Ramblers, and local people combined to argue that this is a well-walked and ridden area, with outstanding all-round views which would have been obstructed by a disfiguring metal tower. A footpath and bridleway cross the hill, and many visitors climb to the summit to enjoy the panorama as well as the feeling of freedom and fresh air.
Says Marion Law, our local correspondent for Shropshire: ‘The mast would have desecrated this magnificent landscape, it was to be surrounded by a 1.5-metre-high security fence, with a new track onto the hill, and an electricity supply. Its rejection is a win for local people and visitors alike, and we are pleased to have helped protect this area for the benefit of all who love to go there for informal recreation.’