Welsh Conservatives are urging the Welsh Government to change planning laws in order to enable the building of higher telecommunications masts in Wales at the Royal Welsh Agricultural Show in Builth Wells this week.

The annual agricultural Show, the largest of its kind in Europe, is a fantastic showcase of the very best that rural Wales has to offer and yet it also serves as an opportunity to highlight some of the key issues faced by rural communities. Poor mobile coverage is one of those key challenges in Wales and it must be addressed in order to help ensure that rural Wales can thrive and prosper going forward.

Currently, the maximum height restriction for communication masts in Wales is 50ft, whereas in England the maximum permitted height is 82ft. Bringing the maximum height restrictions in Wales in line with that of England will help significantly increase mobile coverage across Wales.

Commenting from the Royal Welsh Show, Interim Leader of the Welsh Conservative Assembly group Paul Davies AM, said:

“Wales continues to lag behind the rest of the United Kingdom when it comes to the quality of mobile signal, and particularly so in our rural communities.

“Historically, the focus has been predominantly on improving the speed of connections but many hardworking people in Welsh communities are being held back by the issue of reliability.

“The Welsh Government need to take urgent action to adjust current planning laws in order to enable the building of masts that can help “change the game” in relation to 4G and 5G coverage across the country.

“Without much needed action in this area, Wales will continue to drastically lag behind other parts of the UK and Welsh businesses and communities will continue to miss out on the service provision that they desperately need.”