Epsom Guardian

Mobile phone campaigners across East Finchley and Muswell Hill have taken a leaf out of Bob Dylan's song book and penned a protest song to perform at the East Finchley Festival on June 26.

Hammering home their opposition message, the radiation song' will be performed to the tune of Pink Floyd's Another Brick in the Wall by Muswell Hill band, the Doggy Jammers.

The band will be joined by a newly formed East Finchley-based protest group, who are collaborating to oppose the installation of a 3G phone mast at the quaint Holy Trinity Church, Church Lane, East Finchley.

For the past seven years the bell spire, where a mast is to be installed, has been the nesting grounds for a tawny own.

Protestors say that they have tried to contact the church's The Rev Laurence Hill to share their concerns, but say they have been continuously snubbed.

The church, through QS4, a firm specialising in negotiating deals between phone companies and churches, is expected to make around £10,000 a year for hosting the mast.

Campaign organiser David Broome, of Church Lane, said: "We intend to ask the vicar what insurance cover there would be that a mast of this power and design will guarantee our health in 25 years' time."

Mr Hill was not available for comment.

4:50pm Thursday 16th June 2005

http://www.epsomguardian.co.uk/news/newsroundup/display.php?artid=606707&FROMPAPER=hendontimes.co.uk

Jun 16 2005

By Linda Foo Guest, Maghull & Aintree Star

PLANS for a mobile phone mast at Central Square have been quashed by Sefton Council.

Vodafone's application to put a mast outside 46 West-way has been refused by Sefton Council's planning committee.

The mast was refused because it is an intrusive feature on the street scene.

Maghull councillors say they are "cautiously optimistic" that their efforts have seen off the telecommunications giant.

Cllr Cliff Mainey said: "I am delighted but tinged with a bit of caution that this mast application has failed at this attempt.

"As well as its proximity to a residential area this is a town centre. We must keep its open aspect.

"I believe the visual impact would be detrimental."

Mobile phone company, O2, first applied to build a mast at the same spot and was refused by Sefton Council.

The company have since appealed to the government's planning inspectorate who have reversed Sefton Council's decision and granted O2 permission to erect a mast on the spot.

Cllr Roy Connell said: "The three ward councillors would like to thank and congratulate Dorothy Barns and other residents who supported the petition.

"This is not necessarily the final decision, the applicant could appeal to the planning directorate and the decision could be overturned as was the one for O2."

A spokeswoman for Vodafone said: "It is a great disappointment for Vodafone's application to be rejected.

"We will look very carefully at the reasons for the decision before we appeal, it won't be a hurried decision."

Exeter Gazette

18:00 - 16 June 2005

Residents cheered when councillors refused a mobile phone mast on a Witham estate. Witham Area Committee rejected an application from Hutchison 3G for a mast off Spa Road, opposite Powers Hall Junior and Infants School. Planning officers recommended approval.

This is Devon

18:00 - 16 June 2005

An international mobile phone company has been rapped for flouting planning restrictions on Exmoor. Exmoor National Park Authority members sent a clear message to MM02 after the company raised the height of a mast at Beacon Down Quarry, Parracombe, to 30m.

Permission had been given in 2002 for a 20m mast for use in the Airwave police mobile communications system.

In October 2003, new agents acting on behalf of MM02 told the authority the mast was not good enough and in order to provide adequate coverage they needed to raise it to 29m.

An authority spokesman said the agents were told the mast would be too high on the skyline and damaging to the landscape.

But in August a new mast was discovered in the quarry.

It was 31m above ground level and thicker that the previous mast.

Also, the mast's equipment cabinet was cream with a plastic-like finish, rather than the stone and slate construction required by the authority.

After questions by planning officers the MM02 agent said a mistake had been made when the quarry cliff face was measured.

They said a 20m mast did not reach the top of the quarry and so could not provide coverage.

A spokesman said: "Airwave's radio planning department have always requested that a 4.5m height mast above the top of the quarry would be required to provide the necessary coverage.

"Indeed the original application submitted and approved details a mast which protrudes above the highest point of the quarry by four metres, plus antenna."

Planning officers said the original drawings were not accurate.

They said suggestions had also been made for alternative ways of providing coverage.

A retrospective application for the new mast was refused by the authority's planning committee and enforcement action will be taken to remove the mast.

After the meeting head of planning Chris France said: "It is a pity that this company who had received planning permission for a 20m mast subsequently erected one 50% higher, hoping to get away with it.

"I hope members' decision to refuse permission for its retention will send a clear message."

Cellular News 16 06 05

A study conducted by the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz has found that having a cell phone tower on a building reduces the price of neighboring residential properties by an average of 8-20%, with a peak of a halving of the value of an apartment in one case.

Property surveyor Boaz Barzilai discovered in his research that the location of a cellular antenna causes nearby apartments to lose 8-20 percent of their value and even more in some instances.

The paper noted that some lawsuits have been filed with local building and planning councils in Ramat Hasharon and Tel Aviv, due to a drop in value of apartments located near cellular antennas. Additional lawsuits are in their initial stages of preparation.

The lawsuits are for 20-30 percent of the apartments' value.

editorial@hamhigh.co.uk

17 June 2005

Hampstead and Highgate Express

CAMPAIGNERS in Highgate have won their fight to stop a mobile phone mast going up near their children's school.

Mobile phone giant O2 wanted to put a freestanding 12.5m mast on the pavement in Aylmer Road, just 200m from Highgate Primary School in North Hill.

More than 180 people signed a petition against the proposal and Haringey Council planners refused the application last week.

But parent Andrea Klein, who has a son at the 366-pupil school, said: "The mast has been refused but sadly for the wrong reasons. It was refused because it is in a conservation area, near Metropolitan Open Land and Transport for London also objected to having it on their pathway.

"It was lucky for us but we are continuing to fight for other reasons, such as health, to be just as valid.

Ilkley News 16.06.05

ADVANCING technology is the main reason why so many applications for phone masts are beginning to sprout up in the Wharfedale area, according to to a local councillor.

The technology used by many mobile phone companies today is Third Generation - more commonly known as `3G' - which essentially turns phones into multimedia players, with the capacity to download music and video clips.

Councillor Chris Greaves (Con, Wharfedale) told villagers attending the Menston Neighbourhood Forum last week that the Government has sold off 3G licenses for billions of pounds, and mobile phone operators need the infrastructure to run the services.

He said the previous 2G service required fewer but larger masts. However, the 3G service requires more but smaller masts.

Councillor Greaves said councils must follow Government policy regarding planning applications for masts.

And he added that the Government encourages new telecom systems and competition, which is why proposals for smaller masts can be `fast-tracked'.

The smaller masts, which are under 15 metres tall, require the applicant to submit a prior notification plan, in which a council is told by the operator that they intend to erect a mast.

The council then has 56 days to consider the proposal, and if refusal is not delivered within that time, the mast can be put up.

Coun Greaves said the second type of mast are those over 15 metres tall, which do require planning permission.

Planning officers have the delegated power to decide a refusal, and if officers recommend approval the decision is always made by the Area Planning Panel.

Coun Greaves stressed that if a refusal is not justified for policy reasons, it would be overturned on an appeal by the operator. He also said if a refusal is determined to be `perverse', a council could be sued with costs being awarded to the operator.

When deciding on a mast application, planning panels are allowed to consider design and siting issues.

But Coun Greaves said panels cannot refuse a mast on the basis of proximity to houses or health issues.

Two mobile phone mast proposals were recently proposed for Menston, one an application for a site on Bingley Road which was refused and the second a `prior notification' proposal at the Menstone Social Club that was withdrawn.

More than 200 Menston people rallied to the call of Farnley Road residents in a protest against the now-abandoned plan to put up a mast at the social club.

People living near the Coultas Close club recently called for the support of those living elsewhere in the village, against the plan they claimed would spoil the appearance of the area.

They also feared the as yet unknown long-term effects of mast emissions on the health of those living near masts.

Mobile phone network T Mobile has since withdrawn the plan, and is looking at putting up a mast on Bradford Road in Burley-in-Wharfedale, which is also attracting opposition.

A 238-signature petition drawn up against the now-withdrawn Coultas Close mast is due to be noted by Bradford Council's Shipley Area Planning Panel today.

Councillors are expected to note that the petition, plus any details of new proposals in the area, should be brought before a future panel meeting.

Posted Thursday 16 June 2005

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Councillor Greaves needs educating!

David B

Mobile phone giant O2 wants to put up a new mast in Pagham across the road from a popular playgroup meeting place. The firm has issued notification that it intends to install the structure, believed to be 15 metres high, a similar distance across Nyetimber Lane from the Pagham Church Centre.

This is used five mornings and two afternoons a week by 65 children in Pagham Playgroup. It also hosts sessions of the Brownies, Guides, Rainbows as well as a mother and toddler group.

Two masts are already sited nearby on the football club and cricket club grounds.

Full report in the June 16 edition of the Bognor Regis Observer
16 June 2005

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This is one of three local campaigns against 02. The other two areas, Avisford Park (near me), and West Park, have joined together to fight 02 on three fronts. Other areas of Bognor Regis are helping, too.

Pagham and West Park proposed sites are only 1 mile away on opposite sides from Avisford Park. West Park has been blitzed for the past eighteen months.

The petition total has now passed the 500 mark with many more to come in.

Viva the people and people power!

Sandi

16/06/2005 Walton news and Mail

By TONY GREEN

PLANS to install a phone mast near to homes have sparked a protest from dozens of families concerned about the health risk to their children.

Telecommunications company Vodafone sent Elmbridge Council details of their intention to erect a 12-metre mast on land by Somerset Close in Hersham, near two blocks of flats and several houses.

The site is just yards away from the spot where T-Mobile wanted to erect a 10-metre mast on the roundabout at Queens Road in Hersham. That application was not approved but T-mobile has lodged an appeal against the council’s decision.

Because of the planning laws surrounding mobile phone masts, applications cannot be rejected on the basis of health concerns. The council has already received 50 letters of objection about the Vodafone mast.

Mum Tara Howland told the News & Mail: “Nobody I have spoken to wants it and we are all concerned about the health risks although they aren’t something the council can take into consideration.”

Masts less than 15 metres tall do not need full planning permission. Mobile phone operators only need to give the council prior notification. If the council objects within eight weeks, permission is refused, but the authority can only do this on the grounds of the mast’s location and appearance.

“Residents are completely outraged,” said Tara. “Vodafone haven’t considered other sites away from people’s homes and they haven’t considered mast sharing.

“We were surprised to have a minimum of 21 days to object. They just put a notice up on the post a couple of months ago saying they were considering putting in an application, but nobody has been contacted since. It was the council that contacted me once the application was sent in.

“There are lots and lots of families in this area,” she said. “The residents and the whole community just do not want these masts in and around our village. If the Government is advising that masts should not be put up near schools, why put one near to where my daughter will be sleeping 10 to 12 hours a night?”

A Vodafone spokeswoman said the proposal was designed to improve their network signal in the area.

“In order for people to use mobile phones – and lots of us do – there has to be nearby base stations,” she said. “They have to be near because they are very low-powered.

“The guidelines to which we comply are there to protect all of us, 24 hours a day, whether you live nearby or not. Proximity to residences is not the issue.

Omega this statement is plain and simple not true. See further under: http://omega.twoday.net/stories/771911/

“It is always regrettable if people feel they have not been consulted when they should be. We do work very hard to try and ensure we consult people, at the very least at ward councillor level.

“We are always happy to address any concern at any stage in the process. As soon as the application goes in, there is an opportunity, as the residents have taken, to make their views known.

“We have a requirement in a specific area and moving outside that area would not work for us technically.

“We always consider every option. It is only after taking into account all the various elements that we come up with an option that we put forward as a planning application.”

Details of the application, number 2005/1172, can be seen at the planning department of the Civic Centre on Esher High Street.

by David Wynn

Lanarkshire.co.uk

PROTESTERS in East Kilbride have rung up a victory against mobile phone giants T-Mobile.

The News can reveal the German company has ‘put on hold’ plans to erect a 50 foot phone mast on Mossneuk Road.

The shock decision comes after nearby residents and Hairmyres councillor David Watson launched petitions against the controversial plans.

More than 300 people put their names to the protest amid fears that the masts are a health hazard.

And locals were delighted this week when T-Mobile announced they are now looking for a more suitable location.

The unlikely victory will also give hope to fellow protesters in Calderwood and Stewartfield who are battling against similar plans for their area.

Councillor Watson said: “This is definitely a victory of sorts as T-Mobile are now looking for a more suitable, alternative site.

“They have said the plans are ‘on-hold’ because they have to be very careful about how they word such things.

“If they said they were scrapped then that would perhaps set a precedent and the company obviously wouldn’t want that.

“But this has shown that if a community sticks together and shows resolve then things can be done.

“We voiced a lot of concerns about this proposal and in fairness to T-Mobile, they took these on board.

“If the company did decide to come back to this site or another one in my ward then I would be looking for re-assurances that they would carry out a full public consultation and also attend a public meeting.”

Residents living near Barrie Road in Calderwood and Fairfield Place in Stewartfield will now be looking to give T-Mobile another bloody nose after they announced plans to build masts near them.

A spokesperson for T-Mobile confirmed the company were looking at alternatives to Mossneuk Road. He said: “After pre-planning consultation we have re-evaluated the site and are looking at other options.

“We have looked at the various feedback and want to find the best alternative for both the company and the communities we serve.”

The spokesperson added that no decision had been made yet on the proposed sites at Calderwood and Stewartfield as consultation was still ongoing.