Villagers in Smarden fear views of their Grade I-listed church will be ruined if controversial plans for a 5G mast are approved.

CK Hutchison Network (UK) Ltd, the company behind mobile network Three, hopes to build the 52ft mast in Cage Lane, less than 50 metres from St Michael’s Church.

It has submitted its plans to Ashford Borough Council but 39 objections have been put forward from those opposed to the location, including Smarden Parish Council.

While the authority accepts the need for the technology, it hopes a more suitable location can be found.

Chairman James Aylott said: “We had figured this would be a good thing as we are in need of a mobile network because we have poor service around here.

“We gave them a few suggestions and we have heard nothing back and the next we see is the application going in.

“We are quite distraught about what it will look like when we can offer alternative places.

“It’s slap bang outside a Grade I-listed church and a busy car park.

“We want this, but in a place that will be in keeping with the village.”

While other locations have been put forward, it has not been made clear where they might be.

Photos edited by resident Richard Hemsley give an idea of what the mast will look like based on an identical one already in Sutton Road, Maidstone.

CK Hutchison says the surrounding heritage assets have been considered, but there is ‘no scope’ to avoid the conservation area and listed buildings have been avoided ‘as much as feasibly possible’.

There are also concerns about the number of villagers who will benefit from the mast as it will only offer better service to those on the network Three, when residents say the majority of villagers use Vodafone and 02.

Mr Aylott added: “The government needs to step up its attempts to get large mobile phone networks to share masts.”

In a statement, 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,” he said.

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

“We carry out extensive searches and surveys to evaluate all the options. We then choose the option most likely to gain planning approval from the local council.

“This will include showing we have minimised the impact on residents and the locality.”

Three adds that eight other options were identified and discounted because of insufficient space to house the equipment.