A bid to install 5G telecoms equipment on a Glasgow city centre office block rooftop got the go-ahead from councillors after previously being refused.

The council had knocked back the bid to put up the eight metre antenna array over concerns it would be detrimental to the look and character of the Queen Street building in the conservation area.

But yesterday councillors overruled that decision following an appeal from firm WHP Telecoms Ltd on behalf of MBNL (EE (UK) Ltd & Hutchison UK.

After seeing illustrations of what the equipment would look like, councillors granted the application at the planning local review committee subject to conditions.

Chair councillor Eva Bolander, SNP, said: “It is a minimal intrusion in the visual amenity in the area from a conservation perspective. In balance, with the need for telecommunications, I think we can approve.”

The appeal from the applicants said there was currently a 5G coverage hole in the area.

It said: “The proposal would not be to the detriment of visual amenity or result in harm to the character of the area. The proposal would further the delivery of sustainable development through intelligently managed and considered change. It is imperative to understand that there will not be a 5G coverage hole in the area (as is currently the case) and all efforts have been injected into the site selection process to deploy a proposal where the visual amenity or landscape character of the area will not be adversely affected.”

The equipment includes cabinets, antennas, dishes, radio receivers and signal amplifiers.

The council had previously rejected the application over a range of concerns including that it was not in accordance with the development plan.

Among reasons given for refusal the council said it considered the equipment would be a “disproportionate and inharmonious addition to the area, which would dominate the application site and the locale to the detriment of visual amenity and the character of the building.”