Planning permission required for aerial pole?

[high_vacuum_house]

Good evening,
I have recently put up a simple pole at the end of our garden for a long wire aerial to go in through my bedroom window for my vintage radios. The pole cannot easily be seen because of nearby trees but I have had a woman from the council visit today telling me that one of my neighbours has complained about it and telling me it needs to come down within 28 days. I am not exactly very happy about it as it cannot easily be seen and is not causing anyone any problems. Do I really need to submit plans to the council to erect a simple pole for a long wire aerial?
Christopher Capener

[broadgage]

I would be very surprised if planning permission was needed for a simple pole, unless of exceptional height.

Do the council have a "green policy" ? most of them do !
Does this policy include encouraging the line drying of laundry rather than use of an energy gobbling tumble dryer ? Surely washing lines are to be encouraged and I doubt that planning permission is needed for a washing line.

IT would be recycling in action to re-use some electric cable as a washing line, and one end might reasonably be affixed to an upstairs window frame.

[Leon Crampin]

Re-define it as a flag pole and put a Union Jack on it. Planning exempt.

Leon.

[pmmunro]

Contact your local council and ask which regulations apply because you'd like to comply with them. You may find that they don't know but just thought that some regulation might be relevant; at least you will know.

Your neighbour, if she/he actually exists, may be concerned about the radiation from mobile 'phone masts and think that your pole has some relation to these.

Council planning officers are not all immune from attempting to enforce personal opinions which they can't sustain if someone more senior is consulted.

PMM

[G8HQP Dave]

It would be exempt if under 4m high, and possibly if attached to the house and below the roof height. Otherwise you probably need planning permission. The purpose of the pole is probably irrelevant; washing lines and wire antennas should officially be regarded as the same thing. In practice I suspect that a council might turn a blind eye to a washing line pole which exceeded 4m.

[HamishBoxer]

I hate to be different but I thought anything over 3m needed permission excluding Sat dishes of 1m which are not allowed even on the ground.

See Practical Wireless advice and RSGB pdf on it.If needed PM me and I will try and find my copy.

Flag poles I believe do need permission.

[HamishBoxer]

One answer forget the pole and tie the aerial direct through an insultator to the tree.

[dseymo1]

Hmmm... So if you plant a tree seed, the resulting 'pole' is excempt. How does that work?

[HamishBoxer]

That is nature! or natural I guess.

[M0FYA Andy]

What would be the situation if the pole were to be pivoted close to the base, so it lies flat when not in use and only erected when actually needed?
Andy

[HamishBoxer]

Still I think needs the same planning aproval.

[Skywave]

Originally Posted by pmmunro

Council planning officers are not all immune from attempting to enforce personal opinions which they then can't sustain if someone more senior is consulted.

Which has been my experience. Soon after moving here, I found it was necessary to enquire of the local council about 'D-I-Y activities', and to be told that, in effect, only Mon. - Sat., between 09:00 and 17:00, was any from of D-I-Y which generated any amount of 'appreciable noise' was permitted. (However, I was told "But painting is exempt". ). When I pursued the matter, that 'restriction' was found to have no substance. Nevertheless, I have limited my D-I-Y activities simply on the grounds of maintaining a 'co-existing relationship' with my neighbour. (Obviously, I never wanted to, and am certainly not going to be, drilling holes in the party wall with a hammer drill at 01:00 hrs.! )

I reckon that the first sentence in post #4 is your best route in order to pursue this matter.

Al.

[HamishBoxer]

Correct way to go Al.Saves a lot of hassle does common sense in life.

[Station X]

My understanding is that any pole over 3 metres in height requires planning permission. However you can have a longer pole so long as it can be easily lowered and not used for more than 28 days in a year.

http://www.qsl.net/gm0onx/PW%20Planning%20guide.pdf

I must admit that I put up a 10 metre pole without permission. I figured that if I applied for permission someone would be bound to object not just on grounds of visual impact, but also because they thought I'd cause interference. It's been there more than four years now so there's nothing the council can do about it.

As said above, beware of councils who make up their own rules as they go along.

[Peter.N.]

I'm glad I live in the middle of nowhere, I have two towers, one with a wind turbine and another for ham radio which has been up for about 30 years and no one has said a word.

Peter

[Amraduk]

The RSGB has a very useful Planning Advice Booklet which can be downloaded from members' services but it is only available to members of the RSGB.

Regards,

Dave.

[Malcolm G6ANZ]

I have always understood that any temporary structure does not need planning permission. So pole that can be taken down and leave no trace of it presence i.e. foundations etc is classed as temporary.
As said above it is possible that there is no real bye law about the pole and the council just want an easy life.
I obtained permission to put up a 40ft steel tower in my back garden by going through all the processes. Someone raised an objection to the height as the tower was above the house roof line, which is what I wanted, but the council overruled the objection and got the tower

Malcolm

[boxdoctor]

I think Leon Crampin (post#3) has the best solution. A friend of mine had this problem, and he also was told by the council official that a flagpole is exempt. The pole (about 8m high and metal painted in brown Hammerite) is equipped with the necessary flag hoisting rope and apparatus, but as far as I know, he has never ever hoisted a flag on it! Its been there for about 25 years, and nobody has complained. This is in a "quiet residential" area of a nearby town. Tony

[mark pirate]

A few years ago I mounted a five metre pole in to the top of a dead tree that had been chopped down to 3 metres, I used it for both a discone and TV aerial.
I too had a visit from the council due to a nosey neighbour, apparently as it was affixed to the tree it was not in breach of planning

Mark

[Station X]

The UK Government planning information site is here:-

http://www.planningportal.gov.uk

However is says little about aerials other than TV aerials and satellite dishes.


According to this document you can erect two 4.6 metre (15 feet) flagpoles in your garden without permission.

https://www.gov.uk/government/upload...lags_guide.pdf