A spokesperson for 3 made the following statement :

Having reviewed the site, we have decided not to proceed with the build.

A number of Stirling Councillors and Scottish Ministers had previously appealed to 3 to consider alternative locations following requests by Dunblane Community Council.

The mast had been allowed to proceed going forward following an admin error at Stirling Council.

By Alastair McNeill 24Oct23 at the Stirling Observer

An ‘eleventh-hour’ appeal to a mobile phone giant was made this week to stop building a controversial 50ft mast in a residential area of Dunblane.

Clackmannanshire and Dunblane MSP Keith Brown and three Dunblane councillors – Alasdair Tollemache, Robin Kleinman and Douglas Dodds – are urging Three not to proceed with the project.

It emerged last month that the 5G mast – turned down by Stirling Council – was to go ahead due to an administrative blunder.

Yesterday (Tuesday) Three said it is currently “evaluating” the site near Dunblane Primary School, opposite Murdoch Terrace, and that no final decision on whether to build or not had been made.

Following the error, Stirling Council pointed out they had made “sustained” appeals to the applicant to discuss an alternative, but had not had any success. The applicant had previously said the installation would be safe and improve network coverage, but objectors had cited concerns over its appearance and alleged potential health risks.

Dunblane Primary School is around 500ft from the mast

In recent days, workers have been spotted at the site opposite Murdoch Terrace near the town’s primary school.

This week three Dunblane councillors – Alasdair Tollemache, Robin Kleinman and Douglas Dodds – issued a last minute appeal to Three. Two MSPs had objected to the proposal along with 12 residents from Dunblane.

The blunder came about after a crucial deadline was missed, allowing the mast to go ahead by default. MSP Alexander Stewart had described the error as “utterly inexcusable.” Under planning rules, applicants who seek to put up a telecoms structure can proceed if they have not had a response from the council within a 56-day period.

The notification application – submitted by CK Hutchison Networks (Three) – had been received and validated on November 16 last year and then formally refused for siting and design reasons on January 16 this year - six days after the January 10 deadline

The local authority blamed a system error for which they are said to be “extremely sorry”.

Dunblane Community Council had expressed “shock” at Stirling Council’s “incompetence” adding that it was “inexcusable especially given the local opposition” to the scheme.

Upset residents had contacted Dunblane and Bridge of Allan councillors last month to express their anger over the matter.

Three, however, had said that 5G rollout was “vital” for residents and businesses of Dunblane.

The councillors said in their statement urging Three not to go ahead: “We call upon CK Hutchison Networks (Three) even at the eleventh hour to abandon the erection of the mast and respect the decision of the council to reject this.

“We intend to write to CK Hutchison Networks (Three) and request that they now give due regard to the council’s decision and to the community’s strongly held view that the mast should not be erected on this site.”

Mr Brown said: “Planning applications exist for a reason, and it is important that the will of local residents, as represented by local authorities, is abided by.

“This has clearly been an error on Stirling Council’s part, so I have written to them regarding this case asking them to keep my office in the loop.

“I have also written to the Minister for Community Wealth and Public Finance, Tom Arthur, asking him to investigate and advise if there are any alternative actions that could be taken to enforce the democratic process which has decided against building the mast.

“While I understand that an administrative error has meant that the network provider is within their rights to proceed with the building of the tower, I’d urge CK Hutchison Networks (Three) to listen to the concerns of residents and the local a authority, and to move the building of this mast to another location.”

A Three spokesperson said this week: “A new mast in Dunblane is vital to supply residents and businesses with the 4G and 5G coverage and performance the town needs.

“While we try to keep mast sites as unobtrusive as possible, they do need to be situated near to where people will be using the service and, in many cases, in precise locations to ensure the widest breadth of coverage.

“We are currently evaluating a site in Murdoch Terrace and no final decision on whether to build or not has been taken.”