PLANS have been submitted for a taller communications tower in the Lake District in a bid to deliver ‘vital’ mobile connectivity.

Cornerstone has submitted a notice of intention application to the Lake District National Park Authority to remove the existing 17.5 metre pole on the site and construct a 24-metre-high lattice tower on Pool Bridge in Hawkshead.

Planning documents state: “The increased height solution is necessary in this case to allow Vodafone to deliver vital mobile connectivity to the wider area which is unachievable with the current solution in place.

“Albeit the new mast incorporates an increased height solution, it is felt that the increase in height would not be overly dominant within this wider landscape.”

According to the planning statement the colour and materials used on the new mast have been ‘carefully considered’ to match those used on the existing mast and assimilate with the wider landscape.

The planning application is under consideration by the LDNPA.