Sutton Common BT Tower is a 72-metre (238-foot)
radio tower built of
reinforced concrete at
Macclesfield,
Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's coun ...
, England. Sutton Common was originally conceived as part of the
1950s 'Backbone' chain designed to provide the UK and NATO with survivable communications during nuclear war.
[''Backbone radio link and radio standby to line links for safeguarding vital communications''. GPO paper for the Official Committee on Civil Defence, July 1956. The National Archives (UK) CAB 134/1207]
The tower stands near the summit of
Croker Hill
Croker Hill stands just outside the western edge of the Peak District national park, overlooking Congleton in Cheshire. Near the summit stands the Sutton Common BT Tower, built during the 1960s.
Popular with hill walkers, Croker Hill offers fi ...
on the western edge of the
Peak District
The Peak District is an upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It includes the Dark Peak, where moorl ...
national park. Sutton relays signals to
Heaton Park in the north and
Pye Green to the south. For survivability during a nuclear war, the Backbone towers are some of the few communication towers in the United Kingdom built of reinforced concrete.
A wind farm was proposed on land adjacent to the transmitter but was objected to for various reasons, including the possible effects of turbine blades on the fixed link.
Channels available from this site
Analogue radio
Digital radio
See also
*
British Telecom microwave network
*
Telecommunications towers in the United Kingdom
*
List of towers
Several extant building fulfill the engineering definition of a tower: "a tall human structure, always taller than it is wide, for public or regular operational access by humans, but not for living in or office work, and are ''self-supporting ...
References
External links
Sutton Common's entry at mb21
Buildings and structures in Cheshire
Transmitter sites in England
British Telecom buildings and structures
1960s establishments in England
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