§ Mr. McGradyTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what consultation has taken place on new legislation in respect of telecommunication masts. [120155]
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§ Angela SmithFollowing the publication of the Stewart Report, the Department of the Environment issued a consultation paper in November 2000 on the subject of planning control for telecommunications development. The consultation paper proposed various options for changing the existing telecommunications planning regime, and put forward a draft Planning Policy Statement for consideration.
As a result of that consultation process, the then Minister of the Environment brought forward legislation which introduced a requirement for full planning permission for all new telecommunications development, including alterations and extensions. This process also led to the Department's new Planning Policy Statement 10: Telecommunications, which was published in April 2002, and takes full account of the precautionary approach advocated in the Stewart Report.