SCORES of residents have objected to plans for a new 20-metre 5G phone mast in a Chester residential suburb.

CK Hutchison Networks (UK) Ltd is planning to build the 20-metre phone mast, along with associated equipment cabinets, at the junction of Victoria Crescent and Queen's Park Road in Handbridge.

As part of its application to Cheshire West and Chester Council, it has sought to allay any potential health fears by citing Public Health England and WHO advice that 5G broadcasts are safe.

Handbridge residents objecting at the proposed site of a new 20-metre 5G phone mast.

Handbridge residents objecting at the proposed site of a new 20-metre 5G phone mast.

The Mobile UK briefing Note added: "Wherever possible, an operator will place these antennas at an existing site, potentially replacing one of the existing antennas on the site. Only where additional capacity and/or coverage is needed will additional sites be built."

It has also cited documentation from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport highlighting the Government's ambition for the UK "to be a world leader in 5G, with the majority of the population covered by a 5G signal by 2027," as a reason for the new 5G infrastructure.

But scores of residents have sent in objections to the plan due to its proposed size and location, which they say would be a "prominent eyesore" in the residential area.

The plans showing the scale and location of the proposed 5G phone mast in Handbridge. Source: Planning document.

The plans showing the scale and location of the proposed 5G phone mast in Handbridge. Source: Planning document.

The application has received more than 70 comments on the council's planning portal, all of them residents' objections, with one resident calling the proposed mast a "visually repugnant monstrosity", with others highlighting it would "completely dwarf" the local area.

Other objectors point out the proposed location of the 5G mast is the Jubilee Wildflower Meadow, a patch of green space which had been given to Queen's Park Residents Association to look after, after Cheshire west and Chester Council supplied tools and seeds.

One objector said: "Please safeguard our treasured living area, not just for those who live there but also for those who visit or pass through and enjoy the area so much."

Many of the residents say they do not object to the principle of installing a 5G mast to improve coverage, and suggest a more suitable location for the mast as being on the University of Chester's Queen's Park campus further along Queen's Park Road.

The deadline for residents to submit comments is February 28.