KENDAL could be going 5G in the future, as EE upgrades its current 4G mast near the Westmoreland hospital.

This weeks Kendal town planning; meet to hear that a bigger mast is being proposed on land at Natland Mill Beck Farm.

The new proposed design will be 16 metres high and is described in a report seen by councillors as; 'a monopole tower to support the antenna.'

The report prepared ahead of the meeting by Charter Surveyors ‘Dalcour Maclaren says: “The replacement antennae will provide improved capacity of 4G and provide capability for 5G services in the area, which will ensure higher mobile download speeds and reliable mobile phone connections. The required improvements can only be provided by the installation of a new mast, and existing equipment was not suitable to support this.”

Cllr Doug Rathbone who chairs the planning committee said: "The mast was recommended for approval because there were not any material planning objections that the committee could find, that would have resulted in a different formal opinion, despite the size of the proposed mast.

"In addition, there can be no objections to the phone mast based on health grounds as they had provided the necessary certification for that.

A spokesperson for EE said: "We want to reiterate that, although this is not a 5G upgrade, there are no proven health concerns around 5G or other mobile technologies. All wireless technologies are rolled out under strict, health-oriented guidelines, which are based on medical studies and reviewed on an ongoing basis. All 5G will be rolled out with advice from the World Health Organisation."

The 5G mobile network has been switched on in some UK cities and has led to questions about whether the new technology poses health risks. A spokesperson for EE said: "The vast majority of concerns about 5G are based on the misunderstanding that 5G is ‘millimetre wave’ or ‘mm wave’ technology – this is simply not true. Operators will not be launching 5G mobile networks with mm wave frequencies in the UK."