Phone mast site options thrown out
Looks like my email bombardment of B & H Councillors with MS messages over the last 2 yrs is paying off.
Burgess is a real s... . In emails to me he's questionned all the evidence on masts and water fluoridation I've sent him. When I mention the precautionary principle I get stonewalled.
Council Leader Bodfish - well known and unpopular supporter of water fluoridation and cynical about mast campaigners. Has failed to vote for anti fluoridation and mast democratisation Motions which thankfully were passed by the Council anyway.
Hawkes and Elgood are I think on our side,.
Recently appointed Brighton Mayor Bob Carden was recently promoted from Chair of the Planning Committee where he always waved masts through whenever he had the casting vote and voted against the phone mast Motion. And the same paper which published this arerticle has done nothing but kiss his b... since he took office.
Best
Gary
Phone mast site options thrown out
by Andy Tate
The Argus Brighton
Moves to offer council-owned sites for new mobile phone masts have been thrown out.
Brighton and Hove City Council's Labour leadership had hoped to authorise six sites in the city for use by mobile operators in an attempt to control the location of the masts.
The suggested sites, all on council-owned property, were in Norton Road car park, Dyke Road Avenue, Goldstone Crescent, Mile Oak Road, Hollingdean Depot and Saunders Hill.
Finance councillor Simon Burgess said: "If we oppose all masts on our land we must accept the consequences which could be inappropriately-placed masts elsewhere in the city, closer to schools and residential properties.
"It's a terribly difficult issue but sometimes we have to be responsible."
If accepted, the move would have represented a change of policy for the council, which until now has chosen to deal with each mast on a case by case basis in planning committee.
But at yesterday's meeting of the policy and resources committee, opposition councillors joined together to reject every suggested site, despite having been warned by a council lawyer that their decision would leave mobile companies with the option of appealing by county court application or judicial review.
Liberal Democrat leader Paul Elgood said: "If we were to support them it would send out the wrong message to residents.
"I will be voting against all of them. We as the landlords have no obligation to take the masts."
Coun Elgood added that while he had received several letters and petitions against phone masts, he was yet to receive a letter complaining about a weak phone signal.
He said later: "This is a warning to the telecommunications industry that the city doesn't want a forest of mobile phone masts close to homes and schools and we will continue the fight against every application."
Labour's education councillor Pat Hawkes rebelled by voting against proposed mast sites in Saunders Hill and Hollingdean, both of which are in her own ward of Hollingbury and Stanmer.
After all six mast sites were rejected, council leader Ken Bodfish accused members of hypocrisy for using mobile technology while refusing to offer sites for masts.
He said: "It's a chaotic situation and the cost to the council could be quite considerable."
Burgess is a real s... . In emails to me he's questionned all the evidence on masts and water fluoridation I've sent him. When I mention the precautionary principle I get stonewalled.
Council Leader Bodfish - well known and unpopular supporter of water fluoridation and cynical about mast campaigners. Has failed to vote for anti fluoridation and mast democratisation Motions which thankfully were passed by the Council anyway.
Hawkes and Elgood are I think on our side,.
Recently appointed Brighton Mayor Bob Carden was recently promoted from Chair of the Planning Committee where he always waved masts through whenever he had the casting vote and voted against the phone mast Motion. And the same paper which published this arerticle has done nothing but kiss his b... since he took office.
Best
Gary
Phone mast site options thrown out
by Andy Tate
The Argus Brighton
Moves to offer council-owned sites for new mobile phone masts have been thrown out.
Brighton and Hove City Council's Labour leadership had hoped to authorise six sites in the city for use by mobile operators in an attempt to control the location of the masts.
The suggested sites, all on council-owned property, were in Norton Road car park, Dyke Road Avenue, Goldstone Crescent, Mile Oak Road, Hollingdean Depot and Saunders Hill.
Finance councillor Simon Burgess said: "If we oppose all masts on our land we must accept the consequences which could be inappropriately-placed masts elsewhere in the city, closer to schools and residential properties.
"It's a terribly difficult issue but sometimes we have to be responsible."
If accepted, the move would have represented a change of policy for the council, which until now has chosen to deal with each mast on a case by case basis in planning committee.
But at yesterday's meeting of the policy and resources committee, opposition councillors joined together to reject every suggested site, despite having been warned by a council lawyer that their decision would leave mobile companies with the option of appealing by county court application or judicial review.
Liberal Democrat leader Paul Elgood said: "If we were to support them it would send out the wrong message to residents.
"I will be voting against all of them. We as the landlords have no obligation to take the masts."
Coun Elgood added that while he had received several letters and petitions against phone masts, he was yet to receive a letter complaining about a weak phone signal.
He said later: "This is a warning to the telecommunications industry that the city doesn't want a forest of mobile phone masts close to homes and schools and we will continue the fight against every application."
Labour's education councillor Pat Hawkes rebelled by voting against proposed mast sites in Saunders Hill and Hollingdean, both of which are in her own ward of Hollingbury and Stanmer.
After all six mast sites were rejected, council leader Ken Bodfish accused members of hypocrisy for using mobile technology while refusing to offer sites for masts.
He said: "It's a chaotic situation and the cost to the council could be quite considerable."
Starmail - 24. Jun, 16:00
