Hermitage TV mast “a huge mistake”

A proposal to build an 18 metre TV antenna on the hill of Hermitage has met fierce opposition from Northern Rhône producers.

Broadcaster ITAS Tim has won planning permission to install the antenna just 50m from the famous chapel of Saint Christophe. Protesters fear the move would damage a current application to secure national protected status for the historic hill, as well as threatening tourism to the region.

Producers have complained they only heard about the planning request when it was too late to object, with Nicholas Jaboulet, owner of Northern Rhône producer Maison Nicolas Perrin, admitting he only heard the news this week.

Describing the plan as “absolutely crazy,” Jaboulet remarked: “I think it will never be accepted. The AOC is so visited that it would be a huge mistake.”

In addition to the aesthetic problems posed by the phone mast, Jaboulet expressed concerns about its potential health implications. “Nobody knows the impact, but everybody says you shouldn’t have wi-fi in the room where you sleep,” he observed.

Other opponents include the Syndicate d’Hermitage, whose president Michel Chapoutier also owns vines around the hill as part of his company Maison Chapoutier, and Paul Jaboulet Ainé, whose famous Hermitage La Chapelle takes its name from the monument. Protesters are now threatening to block the roads leading up to the hill in order to prevent construction work.

The proposed site lies in AOC Crozes Hermitage, whose mayor gave permission for the mast last March, although the council has since voted against the project. However, with the deadline for objections having passed in early May, ITAS Tim intends to begin building before the end of this year.

The Hermitage hill already hosts a smaller 10m antennae, which was installed by telecoms firm TDF more than 20 years ago.

Opposition to this project has sparked parallels with the current construction of a bridge across prime vineyard site in Germany’s Mosel Valley, which also sparked fierce controversy.