Villagers hit out at phone mast disguised as a tree - because it looks like a toilet brush

The 25 metre high mast, near Dundas Home Farm, South Queensferry, in Scotland, was granted planning permission last summer. Locals said attempts to hide it with greenery had backfired as it stands more than double the height of the rest trees around it - and looks more like a loo cleaner.

One said: "Oh dear it definitely looks nothing like a tree and very much like a gigantic toilet brush." More than 20 objections were made on the planning application for the mast at the time it was approved in June 2021.

They said it would spoil the 'visual amenity' of the Dundas Special Landscape Area and have a 'detrimental' impact on nearby Dundas Castle.

One objection said: "The application is pretty much identical to the application that was rejected in 2020 by the planning authority other than trying to disguise this mast structure as an extremely tall tree that would seem out of place in the area.

"It would appear the height of this mast is considerably taller than existing surrounding trees and would be observed from local properties within the listed area including the livery and properties within the listed Dundas Home Farm."

The site is a replacement mast for EE and Three and was built by Mobile Broadband Network Limited.

An MBNL spokesperson 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."