The Great Snarling chapter has successfully opposed a 5G mast on the edge of the village, which the chapter argued would be "visually intrusive, unnecessary and, in all likelihood, listening". News of the refusal reached members over the following four days on foot.
The village has had no reliable mobile signal since mobile signal was invented. Residents have long complained about this, chiefly in letters to the parish newsletter, and the chapter's Digital Engagement officer Tarquin Bowes-Lyonish, N.O.B., had campaigned against the mast almost entirely from the top of the churchyard wall, where he can get one bar if he holds the phone up and doesn't move.
WE DO NOT NEED A MAST. WE HAVE MANAGED PERFECTLY WELL. IF PEOPLE WANT TO PHONE SOMEONE THEY CAN GO TO THEIR HOUSE, WHICH IS HOW IT SHOULD BE. SHARE THIS BEFORE THEY TAKE IT DOWN.Tarquin Bowes-Lyonish, N.O.B., via Facebook, from the wall
The mast, 15 metres tall and disguised as a fir tree, was described in objections as "a fir tree, here, in Norfolk, which is the giveaway", and as posing a risk to bats, who Dr Barnaby Slough said "use the same frequencies, probably".
Since the refusal, a resident has applied to create a footpath between the two halves of the village, to make walking round with news easier. The chapter has objected on the grounds that it would "only encourage walking" and that a footpath is "a mast for feet".
Mr Bowes-Lyonish's laptop, meanwhile, has been left on the churchyard wall and is now itself the subject of a heritage application.