Plans for a 51-metre-high telecommunications tower in the middle of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park have sparked outcry among protesters who say it would be a ‘grotesque act of self-harm’ to approve them.

Britannia Towers Ltd has applied, on behalf of Wholesailor, to build a 51-metre-high telecommunications tower supporting nine transmission dishes and six mobile coverage antennas on privately owned land at Pantmaenog Woodlands, Rosebush.

The development, which would sit 384 metres above sea level, would also comprise of equipment cabinets at ground level and would be surrounded by a chain link security fence.

The application states that the tower would primarily be used to link two data centres in London and Ireland, mostly related to financial trading.

It would also hold mobile phone antennae which, according to the application will increase coverage in the Rosebush area.

A group of local residents have come together to voice their opposition to the plan.

Those against the proposal say that it would have significant visual impact on the skyline in an area of outstanding natural beauty and could have an effect on tourism. They say that the dish at the top of the tower would be visible from miles away.

There is a fear that if the national park granted planning for this development then it would set a precedent for more large towers to be erected.

Peter Ainsworth, speaking on behalf of the residents, disputed claims that it would provide better mobile coverage, saying that the area already had 4G coverage and that mobile phone providers such as EE already have three towers in the area and had confirmed to him that they are not planning any more.

Concerns about the health effects of such a powerful transmitter near to people’s homes has also been raised.

Mr Ainsworth’s research has pinpointed Wholesailor as being based in the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao so outside UK jurisdiction.

He also points out that the tower would take financial data and send it to Ireland to be processed when that work could be done in the UK.

“There are no benefits to Pembrokeshire or the UK from this tower and many costs,” he says. “It would be a grotesque act of self-harm to approve it.”

Maenclochog Community Council has also objected to the proposal, saying it ‘would be a blot on the landscape’ and that a project of this size should have had wider public consultation.

The council also raised concerns as to its potential negative impact on nature surrounding the site, including polecats living in Pantmaenog woods.

The planning application and supporting documents can be seen on the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park planning portal, under planning reference number NP/22/0503/FUL.