PLANNING permission has been granted for two mobile phone antennae and dishes on top of the BT Exchange, in Back Wood Street, Darwen.

Permission came after opposition from residents was retracted because the applicant agreed to remove a ladder from the side of the building. Residents had feared the ladder would give views into their gardens.

Hutchinson 3G, the mobile phone company which made the application, said access to the new equipment would be from inside the building.