Villagers have told of their relief after unpopular plans to build a 5G mast in a conservation area were rejected.

CK Hutchison Network (UK) Ltd, the company behind mobile network Three, wants to build the 52ft mast in Cage Lane, Smarden, less than 50 metres from St Michael’s Church, a Grade I-Listed building.

The proposals received 160 objections and earlier this month the concerns were echoed by Ashford Borough Council, which refused the mast on the grounds it would be “visually obtrusive” and a “detriment of the character and appearance of the area”.

Helen Teare, chair of Smarden Parish Council said that while she did not object to improvements in connectivity, she is pleased the mast was refused at that location.

She added: “We are over the moon it has been rejected for this particular site as it really would have been devastating there. Now we wait and see what the operator does.

“Being a conservation area, we’re so keen on preserving the look of the village and this would have changed it.

“We feel we might be able to offer them other suitable sites, but we need to know what their requirements are and for that, we would welcome some conversation.”

However, Three say other locations were considered but this was the most viable option.

Photos edited by Richard Hemsley, also of Cage Lane, give an idea of how the mast would have looked based on an identical one already in Sutton Road, Maidstone.

Mr Hemsley, 60, added: “It was a huge sense of relief when it was rejected, we felt like our objections were vindicated.

“We want better signal because it’s so poor here but not at the cost of the conservation area.

“If one mast goes up and sets a precedent, another network could come along and want the same so we could end up with lots of others going up.”

This is something that Cllr Teare also feels needs addressing and she hopes the government will continue with its levelling up plans which will allow multiple mobile networks to share masts.

A Three spokesman said: “5G rollout is vital for residents and businesses of Smarden.

"We want to offer the community a reliable network experience and this site will be critical to making that happen.

"Masts need to be situated near where people will be using the service and, in precise locations to ensure the widest breadth of coverage.

“We carried out extensive searches and surveys to evaluate all the options and we chose this location as it was the most viable.

"We are considering our next steps to try and bring improved connectivity to Smarden.”