PLANS to install a 20-metre-tall phone mast in Silsden just yards from a listed building have been refused.

Bradford Council said the mast would be "visually unacceptable".

Telecommunications company Three applied to install the mast in Hillcrest Avenue, near the town's Co-op, earlier this year.

It was a 'prior notification' request – to see if the structure could be built without the need to submit a full planning application.

The company said there was an "acute need" for such a mast in Silsden, and that existing masts could not be converted to achieve the required 5G coverage.

But planning officers said the structure would be just a short distance from the Silsden Conservation Area and close to a Grade II listed building.

There were 21 objections to the plans.

The council said: "It is considered that the proposed installation is a visually unacceptable form of telecommunication development.

"It would create an intrusive and overbearing feature at a prominent location within the street scene.

"By virtue of its prominence and dominant scale, the siting and appearance of the apparatus would also be harmful to the character and appearance of the adjoining Silsden Conservation Area and the setting of the Grade II listed building at 22 Bridge Street."