Work starts on new Caldbeck mast

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WORK has started on a £10m television mast which will change the skyline of Cumbria.

When it is completed the new mast at Caldbeck will be one of the tallest structures in the country at 1,105ft (337 metres).

It will be more than 300ft taller than Britain’s tallest building, London’s 773ft-high Canary Wharf.

It will also be the third tallest structure in the country behind Belmont television mast in Lincolnshire (1,263 ft) and Skelton transmitter near Penrith (1,197 ft).

The mast, which is being constructed in preparation for the switchover to digital broadcasting in the Border region, will contain 300 tonnes of steelwork.

There will be 1,110 cubic metres of concrete in the foundations and 3,350 cubic metres of concrete in the stay-blocks to hold it secure. It is expected to last 70 years.

Work on the foundations began in May and work on the antenna is scheduled to start in 2008. It is not due in service until 2009.

Full story & a pic of the first section in place - Cumberland News http://www.cumberland-news.co.uk/new...aspx?id=507890