5G upgrade approved for roof of city's Grand hotel

Plans to upgrade 5G telecommunications equipment on the roof of York's Grand hotel have been approved by the city council.

The scheme will see existing antennae and a dish replaced with new equipment to improve mobile connectivity in the city centre.

The Grand, a Grade II* listed building, was originally built in 1906 as the headquarters of the North Eastern Railway before reopening as a luxury hotel in 2010.

Planning documents said the proposals were a "carefully considered form of development" which balanced "operational needs with the sensitivities of a highly constrained historic environment".

City of York Council planning officers approved the application, concluding the works were acceptable and would preserve the character of both the listed building and the surrounding conservation area.

The application, submitted by telecommunications company Cornerstone, involves replacing six existing antennae with nine new antennae, along with the replacement of a single dish.

The equipment will remain mounted on a 49ft (15m) steel lattice tower on the roof of the building.

The structure dates back to the site's railway use and was retained when the former railway headquarters was converted into a hotel.

According to planning documents, the upgrade is needed to help meet growing demand for mobile data and improved network coverage as telecommunications technology continues to develop.

The application also stated that the radio frequencies used by 5G equipment operated "below levels considered harmful to public health".

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said while the proposal would result in what planners described as "a low level of less than substantial harm" to heritage assets, the application argued this was outweighed by the public benefits of improved connectivity.

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