North Scotland

JOHN THOMSON

09:00 - 25 May 2005

Councillors were given clear legal advice yesterday that any appeal against a decision to grant planning consent for a mobile phone mast in a north-east town would be futile.

Banff and Buchan members learned that a Scottish Executive reporter had reversed a decision by councillors who voted last year to reject the proposal at Banff.

Mobile phone giant Vodafone had lodged an appeal against the council decision and it was allowed following an inquiry.

The Scottish Executive reporter approved permission for a 40ft mast at West End Garage, Jail Lane.

Vodafone argued it was needed to improve mobile reception in Banff and said the scheme conformed with radiological safety guidelines.

Aberdeenshire legal manager Jim Buchan told the Banff and Buchan area committee yesterday: "We could have considered an appeal against the reporter's decision. But looking at the decision, we are strongly of the view it would be doomed to failure from the start."

Mr Buchan was responding to comments by Banff councillor John Cox who said many residents in Banff were unhappy at the reporter's decision.

Mr Cox asked if there was any further action councillors could take and said the area west of the site was a valuable piece of ground which could be developed in the future.

He went on: "I know the health authorities were interested in looking for a site for a dementia unit."

Mr Buchan said there were no proposals for the site and no planning designation for a dementia unit.

He said he had based Aberdeenshire's defence of the decision to reject the mast application on the volume of public objections.

The area committee threw out the Vodafone application last year after raising doubts about the technical justification for the mast. Councillors also said the site was on the edge of a conservation area and close to ground which could be developed for hospital needs.

The mast application attracted 24 objections from people living in the immediate area who raised health and safety concerns.

Banff West councillor Jeanette McKee said yesterday the Scottish Executive encouraged community involvement in planning and on the other hand dismissed the public views on this proposal.

She questioned the need for a mast and said during a site visit, everyone with mobile phones got a signal at the site.

Mr Buchan said the Scottish Executive reporter had not questioned the technical justification for a mast.

The committee noted the appeal decision after committee vice-chairman Councillor Brian Topping said that there appeared to be no prospect of winning a legal battle against it.

Bath Chronicle

11:00 - 25 May 2005

Mobile phone mast protesters are celebrating after persuading a mobile phone company to drop controversial plans to site a mast at a residential location in Trowbridge. Mobile phone giant O2 has bowed to pressure from College Estate Residents' Association to find an alternative site for the mast, which was set for the corner of College Road and Willow Grove.

Although planning permission had been granted for the project, residents kept up the pressure on O2 and a compromise has now been reached.The telecommunications company has agreed not to place the equipment on the street corner, which is next to a block of flats for the elderly.

Instead, it is submitting a planning application to have the mast installed on the roof of the Edington Building at nearby Wiltshire College. The change of heart has come after members of the residents' association and Cllr Sarah Content met company officials to express their concerns.

Residents complained the original proposed site was close to many homes and primary schools.

Association chairman Derek Adams said he was delighted at the outcome.

"I think everyone will be very pleased about this change of heart," he said.

"A lot of people found it very worrying to have a mast so close to home. I have to thank everyone who supported us, signed the petition and turned up at a public meeting to discuss this."

The association is poised to formally back O2's alternative proposals at its next meeting.

Cllr Jeff Osborn, who represents the Trowbridge College ward on West Wiltshire District Council, said: "It is really good to see that a suitable compromise seems to be close now. Everyone has behaved responsibly and they have listened to each other. I am delighted."

Cllr Content, who also represents Trowbridge College, said: "Telecommunication masts are becoming increasingly contentious due to confusion and uncertainty about possible health risks from the Government and independent research groups."

BBC news website 24 may 05

Mobile phone giant Vodafone is dismantling a mast it put up illegally in a Worcestershire village.

The company erected a cabin and a mast in Salwarpe last October without planning permission.

Villagers objected to the installation in a conservation area. Wychavon District Council gave Vodafone until Tuesday to take it all down.

A company spokesperson said the mast's generator was turned off last week so it was no longer operating.

They added that the mast and equipment would be dismantled by the end of the month.

May 21 2005

Daily Record

PEOPLE power triumphed yesterday as plans to build a mobile phone mast near homes were scrapped.

Hutchison 3G wanted to erect the 41ft antenna in Bearsden, near Glasgow, to remove a network blackspot.

But worried parents defeated the move after claiming the mobile giants were gambling with their kids' health.

They were furious that the top of the mast, which emits the highest levels of radiation, would be in line with bedrooms at the back of their homes. East Dunbartonshire councillors refused permission for the mast, despite planning officials recommending that it should get the go-ahead.

Campaigners were backed by MSP Des McNulty, who warned the height of the houses meant the mast was 'poorly sited'.

Local resident Thomas McMahon said: 'We understand these masts have to be erected but some common sense and precautionary measures need to be in place to protect our children and the vulnerable.

WORLD famous psychic Uri Geller has stepped in to support campaigners who are trying to stop a mobile phone mast from being built near three Harrogate schools.

Speaking exclusively to the Harrogate Advertiser, the celebrity said he believed everything possible should be done to stop masts being built near homes and schools and he pledged his personal support to Campus members who are fighting plans to build a 3G mast on Claro Road.

"The practice of putting mobile phone masts near schools should be outlawed and I am appalled that the Government is giving permission for such masts to go up in areas like this," he said.

"My knowledge of the danger of masts leads me to believe that anyone living near them is endangering their lives. I believe they can cause many ailments, especially in children whose skulls are so much thinner than those of adults, and there is no doubt in my mind that these masts radiate low frequency waves which sooner or later will damage people's health.

"I'm willing to do anything I can to help the Harrogate campaigners and protect the health and well-being of these children."

Mr Geller, who shot to fame in the 1970s when he demonstrated his ability to bend spoons using the power of his mind, was contacted by Harrogate mast protester Jean Bowman after he appeared on a TV stitch up programme.

Programme makers pretended to build a mobile phone mast close to his home and Mr Geller, unaware that he was the subject of a prank, reacted strongly and immediately called his lawyers.

Campus member Mrs Bowman, who has been a staunch campaigner against the Claro Road mast, saw the programme and wrote to Uri Geller to ask for his help.

"Within a day he was on the phone to me," said Mrs Bowman.

"He told me he was convinced phone masts were a major health risk and he said he would do anything he could to help us."

Mrs Bowman, who moved her five-year-old daughter away from one of the schools affected by the mast at Christmas because of concerns about the risks to her health, said the celebrity's involvement was a welcome boost to the campaign.

"I sometimes feel that because we are just ordinary parents our opinions will be ignored, so having someone high profile behind us is wonderful," she added.

The campaigners expect to hear the outcome of their latest appeal against the mast in mid June.

jenni.moulson@ypn.co.uk
20 May 2005

This is Exeter

12:00 - 20 May 2005

A Devon MP has expressed concern over claims that the third generation phone technology could mean the number of masts in the county could quadruple.

Angela Browning, the Tory MP for Tiverton and Honiton, said it was time for the Government to heed its promise to listen to communities if an invasion of mobile phone masts was to be stopped in its tracks.

She said: "We have seen an explosion in mobile phone masts and there have been a number of highly controversial ones in my constituency.

"It now appears that there will be many more because the Government has refused to take on board the guidelines of the Stewart Report."

Tory local government affairs spokesman Caroline Spelman claimed in a Commons Early Day Motion that the operators of 3G technology had indicated that "as many as four times the present number" of masts will soon be needed.

That would equate to as many as 200 more masts in constituencies such as Exeter and Tiverton and Honiton.

Mrs Browning, the shadow local government minister, said: "This is a key test of the Government. On May 6 outside Number 10, Mr Blair said he would listen. He now needs to listen to people's very real concerns about mobile phone masts."

Ms Spelman said that the 3G operators were making available to MPs maps which pinpoint new base stations. But Mrs Browning said she had yet to see one.

She said: "The nature of the 3G phones, which require video quality, means masts need to be closer together and there will need to be many more of them.

"The Government is refusing to adopt the precautionary approach outlined in the Stewart Report."

Ms Spelman's motion also calls for full planning permission to be introduced for masts under 15 metres as well as over this height.

The Echo's Shock Waves campaign, launched in 2002, has called for more research to be carried out into the health implications of masts.

The campaign recently highlighted the battle by residents and businesses to oppose a proposed 3G mast in Heavitree Road, close to schools, nurseries and the city's maternity hospital.

Hundreds of people signed a petition to Vodafone telling the company that the proposed site was not appropriate for a mast.

Christine Jude, of the Mobile Operators' Association, questioned predictions that the number of masts were set to quadruple.

She said: "There are currently a total of 45,000 base station sites in the UK and the mobile phone operators estimate that this figure is likely to rise to around 50,000 by the end of 2007.

"Imposing full planning on all mobile phone development will do nothing to address community concerns. Rather, it will hold up the development of the next generation of mobile networks, to the detriment of businesses and communities alike."

by Emma Joseph

Daily Echo, Poole

MORE than 200 new mobile phone masts could be put up in Poole, according to the town's re-elected MP, Robert Syms.

Mr Syms is warning that recent comments from industry figures have suggested new "3G" technology will require four times as many masts than the present number.

That means local communities across the country are facing a further 130,000 mobile phone masts - an average of 209 in every parliamentary constituency.

Mr Syms said: "Throughout the election campaign I heard first-hand how the threat of poorly-located masts is causing alarm for many people.

"There is a presumption in favour of development inherent in the current planning system which overrides local, environmental and safety concerns.

"Current planning rules cannot cope with the imposition of 130,000 more masts - with up to 200 more near homes and schools across Poole."

Mr Syms is backing the Conservative party in lobbying the government for full planning permission and a single process for dealing with all masts and asking for councils to be allowed to take health concerns into account.

The party also wants mast operators to be required to demonstrate that any development does not result in unacceptable damage to visual amenity or environmentally sensitive features and councils to draw up their own supplementary planning guidance to ensure consistency.

Mr Syms added: "We all want to be able to use a mobile phone, but this doesn't mean masts should be constructed without any regard for the well-being of local people in Poole.

"I will be calling on the government to address the feelings of powerlessness and frustration experienced by those living under the threat of badly-sited masts," he added.

First published: May 20

Perceived health risks IS okay by government! Let's quote this!

DONTINO’S MAST SHOWN RED LIGHT

Published on Friday, May 20th 2005

The Hexham

by BRIAN TILLEY

OBJECTORS have won their fight to prevent a mobile phone mast being erected on top of a Hexham nightclub.

Tynedale Council’s development control committee unanimously turned down the application by communications firm 3.

“We are delighted that the councillors saw common sense,” said Phil Roe, spokesman for protest group 3G Concern, which marshalled protests to the scheme.

The plan for an eight metre high mast on top of Dontino’s nightspot attracted four protest petitions, with a total of 541 signatures, as well as 35 individual letters of objection.

Hexham Town Council also objected to the scheme.

However, the council’s chief planning officer, Helen Winter, recommended approval, saying the proposal complied fully with national guidelines on masts.

The decision to refuse the application followed an inspection by the committee’s site investigation working group, after the application had been adjourned at an earlier meeting.

Coun. Mrs Anne Dale, of Stocksfield, said the inspection had revealed the mast would have a significant impact in the conservation area.

She said: “It will be double the height of Dontino’s, and if we allowed something like this right in the middle of Hexham, we will be going downhill.”

Coun. Ross Adamson, also of Stocksfield, added: “It would be very prominent when viewed from the north, and there is also the radiation to take into account. It should be turned down.”

Coun. Paul MacDonald, of Ovingham, added: “As well as the height problem, there is the perceived health risk, which the Government has said is enough to justify refusal.

“Having something like this in the centre of Hexham is one step too far.”

Coun. Dave Shaw, of Prudhoe argued that no telecommunications masts should be permitted in towns; all should be in the middle of farmers’ fields, away from centres of population.

Ward councillor Matty Donnelly congratulated the members of the site investigation group on their common sense.

He said: “Large numbers of people have stopped me in Hexham to tell me they are very concerned about the location of this mast.

“It’s within a very short distance of a nursery and a middle school, and people are worried.”

Coun. Mitch Mitchell, of Haydon Bridge, pointed out that it was still not known what the dangers of radiation from masts were, but it was clear they should not be allowed near schools and nurseries.

“To allow that is criminal,” he said.

Coun. Derek Kennedy, of Hexham, said: “To have this in the centre of Hexham is just not acceptable.

“Even if there is no health risk, people can still become ill with stress because of the public perception that there is a risk.”

Mrs Winter pointed out that it would be difficult to sustain a refusal on visual impact grounds on appeal, as the mast was only the equivalent of a flagpole.

“I don’t think there is flagpole this big on top of Buckingham Palace,” retorted Coun. MacDonald.

Coun. Michael Walton, of Greenhaugh, noted that the applicants had considered and rejected numerous alternative sites in Hexham, and suggested they try the huge poles which have recently appeared at Hexham Golf Club to hold netting to catch stray golf balls.

When the matter was put to the vote, there was not a single vote in favour of the scheme.

by James Webb

HUNDREDS of residents have won their year-long fight to stop a 58ft mobile phone mast being built at Marlow Football Club.

An appeal by telecomm-unications giant Orange was thrown out by the Secretary of State's Planning Inspectorate on Friday sparking celebrations among those who protested against the mast.

Read all about it in this week's Marlow Free Press

11:10am today

Wiltshire Times 20-05-05

PEOPLE power has forced a mobile phone firm to think again on the siting of a 15-metre mast on a Trowbridge estate.

O2 wanted to put the mast on land opposite Wiltshire College Trowbridge, but protestors said it would have been 10ft away from an 89-year-old woman's flat.

Residents on the College estate presented a 369-name petition to O2 but were told the firm did not need planning permission.

Two representatives from O2 met ward councillors and Derek Adams, chairman of the College Road Residents' Association, on Friday.

Mr Adams said the firm agreed to re-think the location of the mast and were in negotiations with Wiltshire College to put an antenna on one of its buildings instead.

He said: "The people who live in the flats are over the moon as they would have been the ones looking at the mast 24-hours a day.

"This solution is the lesser of two evils. We have won the battle, but not the war."

Mr Adams said the residents committee would decide if the solution was acceptable at a meeting tonight.