Written question WQ100886
- Asked by
- Darren MillarConservative
- To be answered by
- Cabinet Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning
- Tabled
- Due
- Answered
- Time to answer
- 5 days
Question
Will the Welsh Government commit to reviewing permitted development rights for mobile infrastructure in Wales to ensure they reflect current market conditions, network-sharing arrangements, and the technical requirements of 5G deployment?
Answer
Answered by Cabinet Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning (Siân Gwenllian)
Permitted Development Rights for telecommunications infrastructure in Wales were amended in 2019 in consultation with the industry to address their calls to increase mast height and mast width and make changes to other regulations to better support deployment of 4G and 5G services.
The Welsh Government supports the deployment of fast modern telecoms infrastructure and has put in place planning policy and PDRs to help achieve this. However, it is important to consider impacts on amenity and the environment where this is relevant. Approximately 30% of land in Wales falls within a protected land designation
The Welsh Government’s Programme for Government outlines that we will reform the planning system to ensure it better supports the needs of the people, communities and businesses of Wales and produce a National Development Framework (NDF) for Wales that provides renewed vision and oversight on an all‑Wales basis.