Sometimes when you try particularly hard to hide something big, you end up making it even more obvious – this seems to be what happened after EE and Three UK attempted to hide a new 25-metre mobile mast in the town of South Queensferry by making it look like a tree. But it ended up looking like a giant toilet brush instead.
Now admittedly, we all know that new mobile (4G and 5G) masts – particularly the bigger installations – aren’t exactly the most cosmetically attractive of digital infrastructure deployments and related planning applications often draw objections from the local population. The downside of this is that local mobile coverage and mobile broadband performance may suffer if such projects cannot proceed.
In that sense, it’s good to see an operator trying a new-ish approach (it’s been done before), but we’re not quite sure if this particular case worked out quite how they intended. “Oh dear it definitely looks nothing like a tree and very much like a gigantic toilet brush,” said one local in South Queensferry who saw the new mast, which is pictured over at Talker (you really do have to see it to believe it). Probably not quite what the operators intended.
The related planning application (20/05809/FUL ), which took us awhile to find but was raised by the umbrella Mobile Broadband Network Limited (MBNL) network sharing organisation on behalf of EE and Three UK, was approved in June 2021 and also includes some mock-up images – these, to our eyes, look considerably less eye-catching than the final product.
“The proposed mast shall be painted to match that of the nearby trees prior to it becoming operational,” said the application. Now in theory, this idea should have worked quite well, but the fact that the mast is twice as high as the nearby trees, has a lot of spacing between its “branches” and seems to be modelled on a different species of tree from those nearby, does indeed make it look a little bit like a giant loo brush.
A Spokesperson for MBNL said:
“The planning authority accepted the operators’ proposals for a tree-styled mast to reduce the visual impact whilst ensuring critical mobile coverage will continue to be available to customers in the area, and accordingly the design was approved.”
Still, it’s a reasonable effort and in the right setting it might have even been more effective, but hay, on the table of ‘mast ugliness’, it could always be.. worse (e.g. Vodafone’s upside down lawnmower).
The URL to the visualisation document with MBNLs mock-up images kept changing. Due to this, I’ve pasted one of the mock-up images from the original plan below.
Haven’t they been disguising radio transmitters as trees for decades now? This is nothing new-ish at all. Lol
Did you look at the picture of it? The tower certainly standards out
standards out? It has been a standard design since the 80’s, I can remember installing similar for numbering stations back in the day.
Not too obvious is glanced from e.g. a moving car, bus or train, but very much “uncanny valley” if you look at it for more than a few seconds.
The mock design has been removed from the council website. They must be feeling embarassed 🙂
I think it’s just that the URLs changed, as it’s still on the summary page. But I’ll add a picture of it to the article, as it’s public interest.
It doesn’t look anything like a toilet brush and the mock design at the bottom of the article looks the same as the drawing at the top
Just paint some rainbows on the masts, then no one will complain.
Ages ago I’ve seen mobile masts pretending to be giant palm trees in Egypt. If you think this looks like a giant toilet brush, look at the mast pretending to be a tree in Poland: https://d-art.ppstatic.pl/kadry/k/r/1/24/5f/5dff7bae56b63_o_large.jpg
The newer phase 8 masts are the best looking out of at the old ones. Theres a few in Yorkshire that I saw some years ago. I don’t think they should have to waste money on trying to camouflage them. The cabinets at the bottom are a massive give away!
Would have been better to paint the mast green. Yeah there cells have to stay White or brown. that would have been better
No hope for us they turned down an 8 metre telegraph pole style mast here.As it would look out of place and the Parish council quoted “It would be of no benefit to the area,” Certainly some councils are behind the times.
When there are planning applications like that write in with clear concise arguments in support for it, it might not help but might show them up for denying it for being NIMBYs and not actual reasons
http://tx.mb21.co.uk/gallery/gallerypage.php?txid=1781&pageid=2299
‘Gigantic toilet brush’ phone mast (more pix here) https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1663548/edinburgh-council-phone-mast-toilet-brush-disguised-tree-south-queensferry
I’m sure Edinburgh would be happy with a toilet brush pole if they could use it to wipe off their Golden Turd, but alas.
The people of South Queensferry have been annoyed at every iteration.
1. They complained at the temporary mast built, which was a regular scaffold tower style. 2. They objected to the new monopole style. 3. They then complained signal was terrible once works in the area started (removing the old tower). 4. They’re now somewhat upset by the toilet brush.
Amusingly Three still have their own tower standing without issue. EE should have maybe approached and asked to share?
In tropical countries, I’ve seen masts “disguised” as a palm tree.
Doesn’t come up as a toilet brush on Google Image Search!!!
Why not just paint it dark green like the other ones around many trees & parks?
On a side note, these seem really really tall, any technical issues the taller they are? i.e signal loss/ dBms
Just leave it light grey. People who object should just accept the technological advances, otherwise there will be little to no progress & the UK will become more of a backward/ retarded country.
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