One of Aberdeenshire’s smallest, yet most famous areas, could be home to a new telecoms site.
Lost, in the Cairngorms, has a population of less than 24.
For years, thieves repeatedly targeted signs surrounding the small hamlet – prompting the council to consider renaming the area Lost Farm. The proposals were later abandoned due to uproar from locals and fans as far afield as the US and Australia.
Now, Lost could be home to a telecoms site to provide improved coverage for the wider Strathdon area and beyond, as part of a UK-wide bid to reduce greenhouse gases.
WHP telecoms have applied for planning permission, on behalf of Arqiva Ltd,to create the telecoms site as part of a wider government project to develop a smart metering network in the north of Scotland and England.
As part of the project, a smart metering radio mast mounted off the steelwork of an agricultural building at Lost is needed to provide coverage to the settlement of Strathdon – to help residents be part of a “modern society.”
Planning documents submitted to Aberdeenshire Council state: “Smart meters are the next generation of gas and electricity meters and this part of the programme is being implemented by the gas and electricity customer suppliers.
“Consumers will have near-real time information on their energy consumption to help them control and manage their energy use, save money and reduce emissions.
“Although this framework might constrain conventional forms of development, it well understood that existing communities must be served by the infrastructure and utilities essential to a modern society.
“The sensitive and balanced approach towards siting does however mean that all reasonable steps have been taken to minimise any perceived visual and environmental impact.”