SATELLITE dishes on a Grade-I listed building could lead to a TV mast on St Edmundsbury Cathedral tower, a council has claimed.

Bookmaker Ladbrokes has applied to site two aerials on the roof of the Market Cross in Cornhill, Bury St Edmunds, to receive satellite television.

But Bury Town Council’s Planning and Licensing Committee has objected to the dishes, claiming it could lead to aerials being placed on St Edmundsbury Cathedral’s Millennium Tower.

Paul Simner, chairman of the committee, said: “Our concern is it’s a Grade-I listed building.

“If they are allowed to put satellite dishes up there, any other Grade-I listed building in Bury can be festooned with aerials.

“We could end up with a TV mast on the side of the Cathedral Tower or a massive BT mast on the Corn Exchange.”

Ladbrokes has fitted dummy satellites to the roof of the building, built between 1774 and 1780 by renowned architect Robert Adams, to prove they cannot be seen from ground level.

It has also applied to install a timber-framed shop front and new signs, to which the town council has dropped its objections.

But councillors still voted to uphold concerns about the dishes at a meeting on Wednesday night, to stop a possible precedent being set.

“Even if we can’t see them, we don’t want them there,” Mr Simner said. “We understand it’s an operating part of their business but it’s the possible precedent it could set.

“We would hate to think of someone putting a dish on the Guildhall.

“We wanted to make the statement we are not particularly happy.”

A spokeswoman for St Edmundsbury Borough Council said it would be inappropriate to comment on the Ladbrokes application as it has yet to be decided.