The Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrat Group on Powys County Council has called on the UK Government to ‘deliver on the promises it made on mobile ‘phone coverage in 2015’, as the pressure for better coverage across Wales grows.

Commenting on the news that the Conservative Secretary of State for Wales is blaming the poor coverage on the Labour Welsh Government’s reluctance to allow the installation of ‘phone masts above 15 metres without planning permission (in England the limit is 25 metres), Cllr James Gibson-Watt said:-

“I represent Glasbury Ward, one of the many very rural wards in Powys, most of which gets no mobile ‘phone signal at all. In 2015 I was assured by our local Conservative MP, Chris Davies, that the UK Government had agreed a £5bn investment package with the main network providers to enable 98% of UK residents to receive a strong 4G signal by the end of 2017.”

“Mr Davies challenged me to support any planning applications for new masts in my area, something I confirmed I would do. To date not one application has been made in Glasbury Ward for a new mast and none below 15 metres high, which do not need planning permission, have been installed.”

“It’s no good the Tories blaming the Welsh Government for this. The Tories need to explain why progress has been so poor and what has happened to the £5bn of our money pledged to fix this problem.”

“It’s time to deliver – not play the blame game,” concluded Cllr Gibson-Watt