PLANS to erect a 15-metre high telephone mast in Rainford – which residents said would "ruin" the centre of the village – have been rejected.

The Star reported last month how residents had raised concerns after a planning application for the structure, along with three equipment boxes, was submitted for land fronting 15 Church Road in Rainford.

It was proposed the 15-metre high "slim line monopole" would also have a wraparound cabinet.

However, more than 300 objections were lodged against the scheme.

In planning documents CK Hutchison Networks (UK) said it was in the process of supporting the Government’s digital connectivity objective and providing a critical role in building the UK’s fastest mobile network to provide improved coverage and capacity, most notably in relation to 5G services.

It added: “The very nature of installing new 5G mast infrastructure within such an urban setting requires a highly considered balance between the need to extent practical coverage reach with that of increasing risk of visual amenity intrusion.

“There is an acute need for a new base station to provide effective service coverage and, in this case, the height of the proposed street pole is the minimum required to bring the benefits of 5G to this area.”

However, hundreds of objections poured in and Cllr Allan Jones, who serves Rainford and is the leader of the Conservative group, said Rainford councillors were "totally opposed" to the application.

He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “The site is in the middle of a picturesque village at a place where people stop to sit and chat.

“It is also near to a tea room, which people use to meet friends.

“Only a few years ago the council spent hundreds of thousands of pounds revamping the village and this area was at the centre of that revamp.

“If permission for this mast is granted it will destroy the ambience of the whole area and ruin the centre of the village, which has been further enhanced by the work of “Rainford in Bloom” and has won several awards from Britain in Bloom.

“The area is within a conservation area, such a mast would not be in keeping with the amenities of such an area.”

Now St Helens Borough Council has published a statement confirming the proposals have been rejected.

A statement said that due to the height, design and position of the monopole and associated equipment, the proposed development would e an incongruous feature and visually detrimental to the historic and natural environment to neighbouring properties.

The council added that it would be contrary to a number of national planning policies.