**UPDATED 19th August: Photo of expected mobile coverage added. See below **
Luccombe could be on the brink of ending the frustration of being without a mobile telephone signal. The availability of a signal could also bring the advantages of an alternative, high-speed, internet service to the village.
The Church of England, through St. Mary’s Parochial Church Council, working in partnership with NET Coverage Solutions (NET CS) are proposing the transmission of mobile voice and data services from the church steeple giving reliable mobile phone coverage in the village and the surrounding area.
Because the signal in the church will be delivered to the church via a fibre-optic cable, the village could then benefit from the availability of an alternative, high-speed internet service.
Villagers would have the choice of multiple mobile telephone operators (they are unlikely to have to change supplier) who will offer voice and data services for 3G, 4G and 5G mobile devices. They will also have a choice of competitively priced, high-speed internet services.
This aerial photograph shows potential range of the mobile phone signal that will be possible if the mobile phone installation goes ahead at St Mary’s. The signal will be available inside houses for a range of 600 meters from the church in each direction. (Click to see larger image)
Before the installation proceeds, there is a consultation process as well as a need for planning consent from Exmoor National Park.
Luccombe villagers are invited to examine the proposal documents available in St. Mary’s Church or to download them via the links below. Villagers can make comments on the proposals within the church or in the comments section below this post (online comments may not appear immediately as they are moderated for spam or inappropriate language, but all comments will be posted).
Once a planning application has been submitted it will be open to comment by anyone accessing the Exmoor National Park website.
The Church supports the installation as part of its wider mission to improve the sustainability of both the village community and the parish church. The mobile service will:
- Provide access to mobile services in Luccombe and much of the surrounding countryside. Thus offering…
- Provide greater security not only for villagers, but visiting walkers, runners, riders and cyclists
- Facilitate easier and more reliable calls to the emergency services.
- Enhance independence for the more vulnerable in the community.
- Provide internet access for calls, internet access, social media connections and sat-nav capability.
- Provide opportunities for local businesses such as marketing and mobile card payments.
- Facilitate access to government services like the NHS, DWP, HMRC etc.
The proposed service will allow people in Luccombe to save money by:
- Allowing people to give up their landline telephones.
- Creating competition and choice among mobile telephone and internet providers so people can choose the cheapest or most appropriate deals to suit their own circumstances
- Allow installation of “smart meters” giving greater visibility to energy bills.
- Making internet shopping more readily accessible.
Pictured below – the antenna before and after camouflage work. NET CS have created this mock antenna that has been attached to the castellation on St Mary‘s tower give an idea of how the installation will blend into the building. this has been created using a printed vinyl image, taken from a drone photograph of the castellation which has then been stuck on to the antenna. It is designed to align exactly with the stonework once fitted.
Background
The Church of England recognises it has a vital role to play in the sustainability of rural communities. With a church in almost every village that is invariably the tallest building in the village the church has embarked on a programme to facilitate connectivity in what are often remote and unconnected villages.
NET CS has a proven track record in providing localised mobile services for events such as the 2012 London Olympics. The firm would install four, discreet antennae on each face of St. Mary’s spire that will blend in with the surrounding stonework.
The Church of England and NET CS are working with local authorities, heritage organisations, conservation organisations and government to ensure the safety of the proposed facilities and ensure they are in keeping with the areas in which they are installed.
A mock antenna that is designed to blend into the stonework on the top of St Mary’s tower has been installed for people to see the impact it will have.
The documents relating to the proposal are available in the church or can be down loaded as PDFs here:
Community Information Pack
Planning Drawings
Photographic Design Report
If you wish to comment on the proposal you can contact NET CS directly you can speak to or email Steven Morgan.
Telephone: 01276 854 440 – option 1 or Email: steven.morgan@netcs.eu
Good news and with no visual impact it seems to be a win-win situation.
This would benefit the community. We support this proposal.
A long-overdue service for the village. From personal experience, I can say that when living alone, you can feel incredibly isolated if your landline fails- if only for a day or two. I therefore support this project 100%. Even a good 2G signal would be a great improvement on the present situation.
Should BT decide to decommission our telephone kiosk as a consequence of there being a good mobile phone signal, could I suggest that, as in many other places, the Parish Council adopt it and use it to house the community defibrillator, which, I understand needs an adequate mobile phone signal for its correct operation.
Such a fantastic idea. We would support this whole heartedly and I think I could safely include my neighbour (Kate) in this too. All connections at the top of Stoney Street can be somewhat variable to say the least, so this would be great.
An excellent idea that can’t come a day to soon.The competition created by this project should indeed keep other Phone and Broadband operators on their toes.
This will give the people of Luccombe and the surrounding areas many more options on speed and price. It’s also a massive advantage for the village to have a Fibre option.
Well done to the Parish Council and the Chairman, in particular, for pushing for these improved communications.