Mobile phone mast Balgreen and Saughtonhall
Comments to City of Edinburgh Council by 21 September 2026.
8/31/20264 min read
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You can comment on (object to or support) this application (reference 26/03367/PATEL) on the City of Edinburgh Planning Portal here (but will need to be registered and logged in if you want to comment). The last date for comments is Monday 21 Sep 2026.
What is proposed is telecoms base station with cabinets and a 20 metre high mast on the island junction of Balgreen Road and Glendevon Park.
There is a guide to commenting on planning applications on our website here.
The basis of the Community Council's objection will be that proposed mast and cabinets would have a negative impact on the visual amenity of the site and would dominate the surrounding area. Poor siting and its effects on the visual character of the place are the most clear "material" planning considerations.
The site is a former rose garden and has this year had new grass, trees, tarmac paths and low timber rails to prevent car parking. These speak to its deemed and current value as local and visual amenity and its positive impact on the streetscene. Much of it has been argued for by neighbours and local City Councillors and supplied by City of Edinburgh Council in the last 18 months. The surrounding area is low-lying and suburban, with two-storey, wholly residential properties around the site.
We visited the site and studied the drawings provided by WHP Telecoms Ltd (see various links below). A box has been built and balloons floated on the site to get a sense of the scale of the cabinets (1.8 m high) and of the mast (20 m high). The mast is twice the height of the tallest lampposts, three times the height of the shorter lampposts, is wholly out of scale and would dominate this low-lying suburban space. The cabinets too are free-standing and do not sit against taller walls. At eye-level they are a major visual intrusion even without graffiti.
We will object to this proposal and will note its total lack of integration with the space. It seems odd that no site on the edge of Carricknowe Golf Course seems to have been considered, and other sites have been discounted for reasons of tree cover or the presence of existing utilities.
Previously
[28-08-2026] At its meeting of 25 August 2026 Murrayfield Community Council said it would object to a proposed telecoms base station mast and cabinets on the island junction of Balgreen Road and Glendevon Park.
We assume an application for Prior Approval has been submitted to City of Edinburgh Council (CEC). This is the "starting gun" of a maximum 56 day period for CEC to decide. Within that, the request should appear on the public weekly list (the starting gun of a maximum 14 day period for the public to comment).
We will say so here as soon as the public listing has appeared and provide a reference. (Neighbours within 20 metres should receive a notice directly).
If you plan to submit a comment to CEC (you can object, support or be neutral) you might want to get ahead by registering with CEC's Planning Portal. We have some tips about this here. But at the time of writing the application has not been posted.
We will also post the basis of our objection here. It will focus on siting and appearance.
[22-08-2026] A local campaign against a proposed telecoms base station mast on the island junction of Balgreen Road and Glendevon Park (see below) has been covered by the Edinburgh Reporter here. The company behind the plan has now submitted an application for Prior Approval to City of Edinburgh Council. The meaning of this can be found in this City of Edinburgh Council document.
[17-08-2026] A local campaign against a proposed telecoms base station mast on the island junction of Balgreen Road and Glendevon Park are holding an open event on the site on Friday 21 August at 4pm. They hope to show the scale of the mast and speak to the press and would welcome as much support as possible.
The Community Council will discuss the plan at its meeting of 25 August 2026.
In the meantime we would like to hear your views. There are a few ways to contact us here and let us know. And your local City Councillors can be found here.
[26-07-2026] Cornerstone, who own and manage telecoms sites, say they want to improve 4G and 5G service for VodafoneThree in the area by installing a base station (20 meter high street pole and 3 equipment cabinets) on the island at the junction of Balgreen Road and Glendevon Park. Other sites that they have "considered and rejected" are shown on the image below.
The site location and the size of the base station compared to current lampposts and the Carricknowe Golf Course / Murrayfield Wanderers advert signboard are shown in this document. Upgrades to the spot have only just been completed as part of wider works (more on this here).
There is not yet a planning application and we will update here if and when there is. A debate about ugly base stations, where to put them, and improved cellphone service is likely. What do you think? There are a few ways to contact us here and let us know. And your local City Councillors can be found here.
[Image credit: H Ross (above), Cornerstone (below), 2026]
