Goatstown joins mobile mast row
Residents in Goatstown are objecting to a planned phone mast for the area that they say will be too close to a nearby crèche and primary school. Over 200 residents have signed a petition to object to a planning application by a mobile phone company to build the mast on top of a premises on Drummartin Road. Speaking to Southside People, John Connellan, a spokesman for the residents, outlined their fears and said they would stage a demonstration on site later this week. “This is a fairly substantial mast development in a highly residential area,” Mr Connellan. “There is a crèche that can be no more than 100 metres from the planned mast, while Mount Anvil Primary School is only 250 to 300 metres away. “With this in mind we feel that the mast could pose a serious threat to the local community and should not be allowed to go ahead as planned.” Mr Connellan said that what most concerned him was an apparent lack of consultation between the mobile phone company and the residents.
“We feel that this should have been a minimum requirement,” he added. “I don’t see why the mast couldn’t have been planned for a more suitable site such as the nearby industrial estate. “At least if the mast was developed at the industrial estate, people there would not be exposed to it as much as in our residential area. At the industrial estate people would be exposed to the mast for a maximum of 10 hours a day whereas we will be exposed to it 24/seven.” Cllr Gearoid O’Keefe (Ind) said that he would also object to the mast, pointing out that Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council adopted a policy at its July meeting that such installations should be at least 600 metres from residents or schools. Meanwhile, residents in Dalkey who successfully campaigned against a mast on the local Garda station have succeeded in getting an undertaking from the Minister at the Office of Public Works that further work has been halted. Minister Tom Parlon (PD) met with representatives from the Dalkey Community Against Radiation, local residents and councillors to discuss the contentious issue. He promised that the work would not go ahead until the findings of an interdepartmental report on the health effects of electromagnetic radiation are published. Under an agreement between telecoms companies and the Office of Public Works (OPW) the erection of mobile phone masts on Garda stations is exempt from the planning process. Residents were supported in their action by community groups in Shankill, who are also opposing plans to extend a mast over the Garda station in their suburb. Three protest marches have already been held against the work, with crowd numbers estimated as high as 2,000.
http://www.dublinpeople.com/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1493&Itemid=49
“We feel that this should have been a minimum requirement,” he added. “I don’t see why the mast couldn’t have been planned for a more suitable site such as the nearby industrial estate. “At least if the mast was developed at the industrial estate, people there would not be exposed to it as much as in our residential area. At the industrial estate people would be exposed to the mast for a maximum of 10 hours a day whereas we will be exposed to it 24/seven.” Cllr Gearoid O’Keefe (Ind) said that he would also object to the mast, pointing out that Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council adopted a policy at its July meeting that such installations should be at least 600 metres from residents or schools. Meanwhile, residents in Dalkey who successfully campaigned against a mast on the local Garda station have succeeded in getting an undertaking from the Minister at the Office of Public Works that further work has been halted. Minister Tom Parlon (PD) met with representatives from the Dalkey Community Against Radiation, local residents and councillors to discuss the contentious issue. He promised that the work would not go ahead until the findings of an interdepartmental report on the health effects of electromagnetic radiation are published. Under an agreement between telecoms companies and the Office of Public Works (OPW) the erection of mobile phone masts on Garda stations is exempt from the planning process. Residents were supported in their action by community groups in Shankill, who are also opposing plans to extend a mast over the Garda station in their suburb. Three protest marches have already been held against the work, with crowd numbers estimated as high as 2,000.
http://www.dublinpeople.com/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1493&Itemid=49
rudkla - 9. Aug, 15:01
