Rawdon Billing: Fury over plans for telecom mast on Leeds beauty spot as petition gains nearly 400 signatures

The petition seeks to prevent Cornerstone from building a telecom base station on Rawdon Billing, which, according to the campaign, is an area recognised for its natural beauty and historical significance.

The creator of the petition, Sue Kelly, said that in the Rawdon Neighbourhood Development Plan (2024-2028), the Billing is described as a "demonstrably special" area, noted for being a "highly visible local landmark with significant built heritage interest including the remains of a quarry, concrete foundations for WW2 defensive installations and a dam at the foot built…around 1858."

The petition, which as of publishing has gathered just short of 400 signatures since launched on March 6, emphasises that the proposed station would be situated "directly below the 'viewing point' from the Billing and would completely obliterate the nearby views to the dam and wide-reaching views across to the moors."

Additionally, the telecom station would be "in a completely open area" without efforts to hide or blend the mast into the surrounding area, which the campaign said would potentially disrupt the character and beauty of the Billing.

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The petition adds: "Due to its proximity to the boating lake, which also has an abundance of water birds, this is one of the most popular areas of the Billing with families from Rawdon and surrounding areas. It is also used frequently by the local pre-school for outdoor activities, and by rambling and running groups.

"At a time when people are generally being encouraged to exercise more to improve their physical health and to spend time outdoors for the known mental health benefits, it is counterintuitive to reduce the amount of valuable green space and to build an installation which will actually deter people from using the area."

It concludes: "From research we have taken, including speaking to people in the industry, we have been informed that there are other suitable locations where the mast could be installed.

"We have also been advised that the proposed location could still suffer from signal issues once the nearby trees are in leaf."