Skip to content

Plan for rooftop 5G base station in historic part of Inverness

News imageBBC A close up of an exterior wall of the BT Telephone Exchange in Inverness. There are silver coloured metal letters spelling out the words "telephone exchange". Above the words is a crest and the date 1949 carved into the stone wall.BBC
The base station is planned for the roof of a telephone exchange building in Inverness city centre

A rooftop 5G communications base station has been proposed for one of the most historic parts of Inverness.

Cellnex UK plans to install nine antennas on the BT Telephone Exchange, near the city's Frairs' Lane.

The development would involve the removal of six existing antennas and associated infrastructure.

In a planning document, Cellnex UK said it recognised the site was within the Inverness (Riverside) Conservation Area, which includes Inverness Castle, Old High Church and historic graveyards.

The telecommunications infrastructure operator said antennas were a "familiar" feature of the four storey building, and the new technology was needed as part of a national mobile communications network.

It said its plans aligned with "longstanding" planning policy.

Cellnex UK has been approached for comment.

5G is the fifth generation of mobile network technology.

It has been designed to provide more reliable mobile connectivity, and deliver faster download speeds, than previous 4G systems.

News imageAn exterior view of the BT Telephone Exchange, a block-shaped four storey building near Friars' Lane.
Cellnex UK said communications antennas are a familiar site on Fraser House

The exchange, also known as Fraser House, overlooks Academy Street, Church Street and the River Ness.

It has a glass walkway over Greyfrairs cemetery, one of the oldest graveyards in the city.

Versions of the Inverness (Riverside) Conservation Area have been in place since the 1970s.

It covers a large area of the city centre and includes Old High Church, which is the oldest kirk in Inverness, and the castle.