A replacment radio mast on Snaefell has been approved by the Planning Committee. The decision comes after the Manx Wildlife Trust described the application as sloppy, retrospective and highly unprofessional.
The summit has carried radio infrastructure for more than seventy years. The first mast was built in the 1950s by the Air Ministry. It later passed to the Civil Aviation Authority. When NATS was part‑privatised in 2001, the station was transferred to the organisation. The current mast was erected in 1987 and has now reached the end of its operational life. The other tower at the summit is owned by the Department of Home Affairs.
Essential to Life
The NATS tower carries VHF and UHF aerials used for civil and military aviation. It also supports maritime surveillance, search and rescue coverage and mobile phone services for Manx Telecom, BAE Systems and the Coastguard. The site is described as one of the most important sites in UK aviation because of its unique position and height. It links aircraft with the UK’s air traffic control centers at Prestwick and Swanwick
At the meeting on Monday, officials told the committee that the mast is essential to the life of the Island.
The replacement structure will be built beside the existing tower. It will be tested before operations are switched over and the old mast will then be dismantled.
Parts of the new tower are already being assembled at Jurby Airfield on the former extension runway. Large sections can be seen on the ground and will air-lifted to the summit by helicopter. The Manx Wildlife Trust noted that Jurby is an Area of Special Scientific Interest and questioned why a separate planning application for the airfield works has not yet appeared.
The charity raised serious concerns about the ecological impact of the project. It said the application should be treated as retrospective because work had already begun on the mountain. A new access track has been created across sensitive montane habitat even though permission had not been granted. The trust said this showed a disregard for planning law and for the ecological importance of the site.
Snaefell is the Island’s only montane environment. It supports Least Willow, Arctic‑alpine Wavy Hair‑grass, Cowberry and several nationally rare lichens. The trust said the botanical survey commissioned by DEFA covered only a single plant species and did not reflect the complexity of the summit’s ecology. It also said the application lacked a Construction Environmental Management Plan and an Ecological Clerk of Works.
Despite the criticism, the committee approved the plans unanimously. Chair Rob Callister said the infrastructure was too important to delay. He also said that people should not begin work until permission has been granted.
