Appeal lodged by Cignal after phone mast refused

A telecommunications provider has lodged an appeal after the council refused to renew the licence for a phone mast located in the heart of a Tymon North housing estate.

South Dublin County Council refused to grant a licence extension for the mast, which had been installed by Cignal Infrastructure Ltd in St Aongus Park in Tymon North in 2022.

The company applied for a three-year extension to the licence for the mast in February 2025, which would have allowed them to keep the mast and an associated ground-level cabinet in the middle of the green area until 2028.

However, the council’s planning department refused the renewal in December 2025, after asking Cignal Infrastructure, also known as Cellnex, to prove that no suitable alternative locations for the mast were available.

“While it is acknowledged that the structure is already in place, the role and relevance of this infrastructure within the broader telecommunications network may have evolved since its initial erection,” the planner’s report for the council noted.

It noted that since the licence had been granted in 2022, “a number of telecommunication structures have been supported across the county”, and that the applicant had “not demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Planning Authority why this structure cannot now be co-located elsewhere”, recommending that the licence extension be refused.

The refusal was welcomed by local residents of St Aongus Park, who had fiercely opposed the mast before it was initially installed, and Cllr Jess Spear (PBP-S) has called on the council to ensure its timely removal.

However, Cignal Infrastructure lodged an appeal against the council’s refusal with An Coimisiún Pleanála on February 10.

Cllr Mick Duff (Ind) submitted a question to the Tallaght Area Committee meeting on February 23 calling on the council to “issue notice to Cellnex to immediately remove their equipment and to fully reinstate the public land on which their equipment is located”.

“The previous licence granted under appeal in March 2022 has expired and there is no automatic statutory continuation of the licence,” a representative from the council’s planning department replied.

“However, given that this application is under appeal it may be best to exercise discretion on an immediate request for removal and reinstatement of lands during the appeal process,” they added.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme