Balancing Landscape and Development: A Case Study of Mobile Telecommunications Development in the Peak District National Park, England

摘要

New technologies create challenges for planners, especially where they require prominent structures to be situated in protected landscapes. In such situations, the pace of innovation can outstrip the capacity of central and local government to respond with rapid and consistent spatial policies. One such field has been mobile telecommunications development, which has posed dilemmas for planners by virtue of its rapid rate of technological evolution, combined with wide territorial coverage. The issues surrounding mobile telecommunications development are further compounded by its marginal relationship to the development control system (with installations often comprising permitted development), its generally incremental and cumulative impact, conflation of health and environmental concerns, its frequent association with landscapes or buildings of special value and the relative balance between private profit and public safety in extending network coverage across remoter countryside. This study examines the issues raised by mobile telecommunications development in a protected landscape, in particular the balance between landscape and socioeconomic need.