PLANS to upgrade a phone mast on a hill above Bingley to 5G have been approved by a planning committee.

In September Telecoms company Cellnex had applied to Bradford Council to replace a 16.5 metre mast on Gilstead Waterworks off Agincourt Drive with a 20m 5G mast.

The plans went before the Council's District Planning Panel at an online meeting this morning.

Members were told there had been 14 objections to the plans, with most objectors questioning the safety of 5G technology, with others saying the larger mast would spoil views in the area.

20 metre 5G phone mast in Silsden would be 'visually unacceptable'

Planning officers told the committee there was a national push for Councils to approve telecommunications upgrades.

The location of the existing mast was described as a "rugged moorland area."

Matthew Ward, speaking on behalf of Cellnex, said that if the plan to upgrade this mast were refused, the current mast would remain in place, and the company would need to install another mast somewhere else in the Gilstead area to meet the area's needs.

Members voted to approve the plans.