Straide says ‘no’ to phone mast plan
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
The roads in and out of the West Mayo village of Straide have been sprinkled lately with signs proclaiming “No Mast in Straide”.
The proposed construction of a Vodafone mast in the village of Oughtagh, Straide has caused major concern in a number of local residents. The mast will be constructed on lands owned by a local farmer and will be in the region of ten meters in height. The construction of mobile phone relay towers has been a national issue for the past number of years, with residents groups throughout the country forming in opposition to these constructions.
An “Oughtagh Concerned Residents Group” has been formed to oppose the construction of the mast.
The group, which has 28 members vehemently, opposes the construction of the mast; they have lodged their objections with Mayo County Council, the eight member Straide community council have also lodged an objection with the council in relation to the construction.
The Western People contacted a spokesperson for the concerned residents group, who are voicing their concerns over the proposed construction.
“This has been going on for nearly two years now, the first application that was made was turned down by the council, but they have reapplied again and we are waiting on the decision which is due in early January. We have had an engineering report carried out on the mast and the location. We had the engineer lodge an objection on our behalf. “There are a number of reasons why we are objecting to the development.
“According to the council’s own development plan there should be no residential homes within 500m of the mast, yet their will be eight homes within that radius. The development will also be an eyesore in the area as it is a pretty open space, these sort of masts are supposed to be located near forestry area’s to disguise their location, but this is an fairly open area and clearly discernible to the eye.” The spokesperson explained. The planning authority requested further information on the proposal in early June of this year and one of the requests that made was that a poll be placed in site view, to show the impact that the development may have on the locality, this poll was erected recently those meet those criteria.
Local tensions have also been raised as confirmed by the group’s spokesperson. “It is a tight nit community, but obviously tensions in the locality have been raised by this issue. But we are willing to go to An Bord Pleaneala if the County Council grants permission”.
© Western People, 2005.
http://www.westernpeople.ie/news/story.asp?j=28721
The roads in and out of the West Mayo village of Straide have been sprinkled lately with signs proclaiming “No Mast in Straide”.
The proposed construction of a Vodafone mast in the village of Oughtagh, Straide has caused major concern in a number of local residents. The mast will be constructed on lands owned by a local farmer and will be in the region of ten meters in height. The construction of mobile phone relay towers has been a national issue for the past number of years, with residents groups throughout the country forming in opposition to these constructions.
An “Oughtagh Concerned Residents Group” has been formed to oppose the construction of the mast.
The group, which has 28 members vehemently, opposes the construction of the mast; they have lodged their objections with Mayo County Council, the eight member Straide community council have also lodged an objection with the council in relation to the construction.
The Western People contacted a spokesperson for the concerned residents group, who are voicing their concerns over the proposed construction.
“This has been going on for nearly two years now, the first application that was made was turned down by the council, but they have reapplied again and we are waiting on the decision which is due in early January. We have had an engineering report carried out on the mast and the location. We had the engineer lodge an objection on our behalf. “There are a number of reasons why we are objecting to the development.
“According to the council’s own development plan there should be no residential homes within 500m of the mast, yet their will be eight homes within that radius. The development will also be an eyesore in the area as it is a pretty open space, these sort of masts are supposed to be located near forestry area’s to disguise their location, but this is an fairly open area and clearly discernible to the eye.” The spokesperson explained. The planning authority requested further information on the proposal in early June of this year and one of the requests that made was that a poll be placed in site view, to show the impact that the development may have on the locality, this poll was erected recently those meet those criteria.
Local tensions have also been raised as confirmed by the group’s spokesperson. “It is a tight nit community, but obviously tensions in the locality have been raised by this issue. But we are willing to go to An Bord Pleaneala if the County Council grants permission”.
© Western People, 2005.
http://www.westernpeople.ie/news/story.asp?j=28721
Starmail - 28. Dez, 16:42
