Temporary Bilsdale mast switch on returns signal to 95% of homes

Tyne Tees
Television
Radio
Thursday 14 October 2021 at 1:46pm

Report by Jennifer Henry

After two months without television and radio signal, coverage has returned for many in the region following the long-awaited switch on of the 80m temporary Bilsdale mast.

Operators Arqiva say the switch on - which took place at 2am on Wednesday 13 October -means signal has returned signal to 95% of households.

Those affected will now need to retune their television sets.

But not everyone is covered by the new mast. Those living in so-called 'not-spots' are awaiting further details on how and when they will be able to access signal.

It is estimated that 23,000 homes fall into this category. Arqiva have previously said they hope to bring this figure down to 9,000 by November.

The 80m mast replaces the original 314m mast (once the region's tallest structure), which was damaged beyond repair in a fire on 10 August.

Roughly 500,000 homes were initially left without signal.

Watch the iconic structure crash to the ground in a controlled demolition on 6 October:

Pictures from Arqiva

The new mast was supposed to have been made operational on 5 October, but this was delayed due to bad weather, according to operator Arqiva.

Bilsdale mast fire: The story so far

10 August: The Bilsdale mast, in the North Yorkshire Moors, catches fire. At least 500,000 homes affected.
11 August - 20 August: Signal restored for 400,000 households via smaller mast installations and new transmitters.
28 August: Customers worst affected offered TV licence refunds.
3 September: Helpline launched to help those without signal.
24 August: Delays announced to temporary mast construction due to land access issues.
8 September: Arqiva chief exeutive Paul Donovan issues "unreserved apology" for the delays and continued lack of signal for roughly 100,000 homes.
15 September: Construction begins to install 80m temporary mast.
20 September: Helicopters begin to airlift large concrete blocks to the site.
1 October: Delay announced due to bad weather.
6 October: Old mast destroyed
13 October: Temporary mast switched on.

ITV News Tyne Tees is awaiting a statement from Arqiva, but they have provided the following information:

Bilsdale DR facility was declared live and radiating PSB1, 2, 3, COM4, 5, 6, 7, services from 02:00 on 13/10/2021.
The changes at Eston Nab were also declared live from 05:00.
Work to re-tune services from Arncliffe Wood, Romaldkirk and Guisborough is taking place throughout the day and is expected to complete by 17:00.

They have urged residents not to adjust their sets if they experience outages at any point on Wednesday.

To those still experiencing persistent signal issues, Arqiva issue the following advice:

Bilsdale advice if you live...

South of Bilsdale (including in and around northern parts of York, Harrogate, Pickering, Ripon and Masham)

You may receive some channels from the new transmitter at Sutton Bank.  If you haven’t retuned since the fire, you may see some channels restored automatically.  If you don’t see any channels, please try an automatic retune.

If you retuned before 7th September and you have intermittent reception, we recommend you carry out another automatic retune as the signal from Sutton Bank may well be stronger.

If an automatic retune does not restore any channels unfortunately it is unlikely that you will be able to receive a signal until further transmitter work is completed. 

North-west of Bilsdale (including in and around Darlington, Barnard Castle, Richmond, Catterick and Leyburn)

If you do not have any channels, we recommend you carry out an automatic retune.

Some viewers who retuned since the fire and had some channel restored may find that they have recently lost them. If this is the case, please carry out another automatic retune.

If an automatic retune does not restore any channels unfortunately it is unlikely that you will be able to receive a signal until further transmitter work is completed.

North of Bilsdale (including in and around Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar, and Stockton)

If you do not have any channels, we recommend you carry out an automatic retune.

On 2nd September, more channels were restored to some viewers in these areas. Coverage is limited but if you’ve not retuned since 2nd September, we recommend that you do so to ensure that you have as many channels available to you as possible.