Overview
Entrust Services was appointed by Heyrod Communications to secure planning permission for a replacement mast at Ribblehead as part of the Extended Area Service rollout for the Home Office’s Emergency Services Network (ESN).The core objective was to obtain timely full planning consent for a mast design that met the ESN’s operational and technical requirements while addressing the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority’s landscape and policy concerns, protecting nearby heritage assets (including the Grade II* Ribblehead Viaduct), and delivering a minimum biodiversity net gain (BNG) uplift.
Challenges
Delivering a technical ESN solution at Ribblehead demanded a sensitive, tightly coordinated approach to several interlinked challenges:
● Landscape and visual sensitivity: the site sits within the open uplands of the National Park where vertical infrastructure is scarce and visibility across long views is a material planning consideration.
● Heritage proximity: the Grade II* Ribblehead Viaduct and associated historic landscape required careful heritage impact assessment and mitigation.
● Recreational pressure: Ribblehead is central to the Yorkshire Three Peaks, attracting walkers and tourists, increasing public scrutiny of any new infrastructure.
● Precedent of refusal: a previous mast proposal was refused by the National Park Authority, so Entrust Services needed to address earlier reasons for refusal and demonstrate a genuinely improved, policy compliant solution.
● Operational constraints: maintaining the Airwave network until ESN cutover limited design options for the new mast and required close coordination with radio planners.
● Environmental exposure and buildability: harsh winter conditions, high winds, ice and snow demanded tight programme management to avoid construction delays that could postpone ESN rollout.
● Biodiversity and planning compliance: the full planning application required demonstrable BNG measures (on- and off-site) and discharge of statutory BNG conditions.
Solutions
Entrust Services adopted a collaborative, evidence led strategy to reconcile operational needs with place sensitive design:
● Stakeholder engagement: convened on‑site meetings with the Head of Planning at the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, radio planners, the Home Office, Galloway Estates and other stakeholders to clarify concerns and explore mitigations.
● Design refinement: worked with radio planners to test reduced mast heights, repositioned antenna mounts and lowered ESN/Airwave arrays where feasible to reduce visual mass. Considered painting finishes and attachment of antennas to poles to reduce skyline intrusion.
● Screening and landscape measures: proposed dry stone wall retention and new tree/hedgerow planting around the mast base to screen the cabin and lower mast elements, this necessitated negotiation for additional land to host planting.
● Heritage and visual assessment: prepared Heritage Statements and a comprehensive LVIA supported by photomontages and wireframes to demonstrate limited harm and effective mitigation.
● Ecology and BNG delivery: led Preliminary Ecology Appraisals and BNG surveys, and coordinated on‑site habitat improvements plus offsite measures to achieve at least the minimum 10% biodiversity uplift.
● Technical and programme coordination: ensured Airwave services remained operational during transition planning, and prepared a full planning submission including a risk-managed timetable that accounted for seasonal access and build constraints.
Implementation & Results
● Planning permission secured: Entrust Services obtained full planning consent for the Ribblehead mast following a robust planning submission addressing landscape, heritage and technical concerns.
● Biodiversity uplift achieved: a minimum of 10% Biodiversity Net Gain was secured through a mix of onsite enhancements and agreed offsite measures.
● Carbon and cost conscious design: reuse of existing dry stone walls, equipment cabins and V-SAT dishes reduced embodied carbon and construction costs for the Home Office.
● Programme readiness: the project progressed to build readiness with a programme that anticipates construction in Autumn 2025, avoiding the most severe winter conditions and supporting timely ESN rollout.
● Operational assurance: continued engagement with radio planners ensured ESN technical requirements were met while maintaining Airwave operations until transition.
Project Impact & Strategic Benefits
● Life‑saving coverage: once operational, the Ribblehead mast will provide critical 999 voice and data coverage across a remote and high use upland area, improving responder coordination and public safety.
● Modernised emergency comms: supports the national ESN programme, enabling real‑time data exchange (medical telemetry, images, building plans) between frontline teams and control rooms.
● Environmental stewardship: delivered biodiversity uplift and landscape-sensitive mitigation measures within a protected National Park setting.
● Community and economic benefits: improved emergency response capability in a major recreational and tourist area, and reduced long‑term costs through efficient reuse of existing infrastructure.
