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The general pessimism within the
telecommunications sector of the utility
industry has been evident over the last few
years, leading to a downturn in the number of
newly-identified and acquired sites and in the
rental market.
This is in spite of the fact that mobile phones
and health issues relating to mobile phones have
undergone major reviews. The National
Radiological Protection Board has recently
published a major document on mobile phones and
health. The review updates an earlier report
published in 2000 by the UK Independent Expert
Group on Mobile Phones and Health. The main
conclusion is that there is still no hard
evidence that the health of the public in
general is being adversely affected by the use
of mobile phone technology but a continued
precautionary approach to their use is
recommended.
For those proposed new sites, in rural areas,
the hoops through which operators have to jump
to obtain planning consent continue to increase
in number and are taking longer to achieve,
therefore ensuring only certain sites rather
than a range of sites would be sought after.
Ease and length of any access to the site and
ability to lay electricity and
telecommunications cables will remain as main
factors. Rentals generally range from £3,000 to
£5,000 per annum per site, dependent on various
factors such as equipment rights, and operators
are very reluctant, if not completely averse to
agreeing rentals over the £5,000 per annum
figure. Injurious affection compensation is not
considered at all by operators, which is not
surprising, given that most areas that are
allocated to an operator for a mast, amount to
around 120 to 200 square metres. Therefore
landowners are achieving a rental of up to
£42/m2 per year, which could not be achieved
from any other industries renting such areas.
It is often easier to obtain planning consent on
urban sites and they are more attractive to
operators, especially roof-top sites where no
tower construction is necessary.
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There are a wide range of rentals for such
sites, dependent on factors such as equipment
rights, whether free-standing structures or
rooftops and, of course, location. Rentals range
from £4,000 to £8,000+ (for major cities) per
annum per site.
Given that there is little room for optimism
within the industry at the moment operators are
taking a more aggressive role in the review of
rentals. Landowners are rarely represented by
agents, mostly due to the fact that it is the
landowners in nearly all cases that bear the
agents’ costs for rent reviews. If the reviews
are based solely on the Open Market Value, a
“nil” increase is usually sought and if based on
the higher of the Retail Price Index and the
Open Market Value, an increase in accordance
with the Retail Price Index is often agreed. If
landowners are seeking an increase in rental
value at a rent review on the Open Market basis,
it will be necessary for them to provide a
number of comparables with the same equipment
rights, lease terms etc, and this often proves
difficult.
As the number of newly proposed sites required
by the telecoms companies is at an all time low,
landowners must be cautious not to be too
demanding with operators, if they are keen for a
site to be located on their property. This is
particularly so given that once one mast is
built, it often attracts other operators to a
site with the benefit of planning permission in
order to “site share” which can lead to
additional rental income on the same site.
Claire Priestner MRICS FAAV
Director
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