Row over plan for a mast site
Burnley News 16.09.05
A DOGGED pressure group has lashed out at council plans to allow a mobile phone mast to be built on the Prairie playing fields.
Mobile phone giant O2 has been given permission to build the mast near allotments on council-owned land.
Despite a flurry of objections from annoyed residents, council leader Coun. Stuart Caddy says, as the mast is not on public land, it has the allowed the construction to take place further away from homes.
As with all mobile phone masts in the borough, it has been confirmed that emissions for the mast will be below internationally agreed levels.
Omega see "Base Stations, operating within strict national and international Guidelines, do not present a Health Risk" under:
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/771911/
However, Together Against Masts chairman Mr Dennis Cannon believes this makes little difference and residents could still be at risk from "harmful radiation". He said: "It could be that certain pieces of council land offer a potentially safer location, but the question of safer should be considered, rather than to say 'safe'.
"However, in practice, it is not necessarily the ones living the closest who are in the most danger.
"It has long been understood, and more recently confirmed in tests, that cancer clusters occur around the areas where the beams of greatest intensity strike the ground."
O2 will pay for the trees to be used to screen the mast from sight and Coun. Caddy also revealed plans to encourage mobile networks to share the masts.
In a bid to cut down on the number of new masts needed in the future, existing masts could instead be extended.
Again, Mr Cannon says he has a lot of reservations over the idea. He added: "Clearly with more than one operator there will be more than three beams of greatest intensity and so other areas will have concentrated microwave radiation.
"I understand the idea of not having a new set of people who will object to a new mast, but what about the people living close to an existing mast and who have already gone through the trauma of the original application and now find themselves with even more concentrated microwaves beaming on to their homes?
"Is it fair that they have to have even more radiation imposed upon them? Who would like to live close to a multi-powered mast?"
16 September 2005
A DOGGED pressure group has lashed out at council plans to allow a mobile phone mast to be built on the Prairie playing fields.
Mobile phone giant O2 has been given permission to build the mast near allotments on council-owned land.
Despite a flurry of objections from annoyed residents, council leader Coun. Stuart Caddy says, as the mast is not on public land, it has the allowed the construction to take place further away from homes.
As with all mobile phone masts in the borough, it has been confirmed that emissions for the mast will be below internationally agreed levels.
Omega see "Base Stations, operating within strict national and international Guidelines, do not present a Health Risk" under:
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/771911/
However, Together Against Masts chairman Mr Dennis Cannon believes this makes little difference and residents could still be at risk from "harmful radiation". He said: "It could be that certain pieces of council land offer a potentially safer location, but the question of safer should be considered, rather than to say 'safe'.
"However, in practice, it is not necessarily the ones living the closest who are in the most danger.
"It has long been understood, and more recently confirmed in tests, that cancer clusters occur around the areas where the beams of greatest intensity strike the ground."
O2 will pay for the trees to be used to screen the mast from sight and Coun. Caddy also revealed plans to encourage mobile networks to share the masts.
In a bid to cut down on the number of new masts needed in the future, existing masts could instead be extended.
Again, Mr Cannon says he has a lot of reservations over the idea. He added: "Clearly with more than one operator there will be more than three beams of greatest intensity and so other areas will have concentrated microwave radiation.
"I understand the idea of not having a new set of people who will object to a new mast, but what about the people living close to an existing mast and who have already gone through the trauma of the original application and now find themselves with even more concentrated microwaves beaming on to their homes?
"Is it fair that they have to have even more radiation imposed upon them? Who would like to live close to a multi-powered mast?"
16 September 2005
Starmail - 17. Sep, 11:02
