World-News

May 11 2007

by Laura Wright, South Wales Echo

A MOTHER of two has joined the campaign against mobile phone masts to protect her children.

Helen Whitehouse, 40, has already successfully opposed one mast application near her home and is eager to raise awareness of the potential dangers of masts to others.

The mum to Ysgol Gymraeg Bro Eirwg pupils Daryl, 10, and Erin, five, of Llanrumney, Cardiff, believes that a law should be passed so that masts are not erected within 500 metres of a school.

She said: “Throughout my children’s school life they will be exposed to emissions. This scares me as children are more susceptible to emissions because they have thinner skulls.”

Mrs Whitehouse is now planning on sticking posters warning of the dangers of the emissions near to the masts she is aware of and is encouraging others to do their own research.

She said: “We’re just told that emissions are within guidelines but there’s so much we don’t know about them, what do we believe?

“Until we know for definite, they should be treated with caution with more research being done.

“I’m glad I looked into it because I understand it more but it’s quite a scary thing – they’re taking over.”

Mrs Whitehouse and her neighbours have just fought off a T-Mobile application to build a mast opposite her house which would have been within 500 metres of St Cadoc’s School.

She said: “We raised all the arguments against the mast we could think. Only 10 households had been advised so we made sure others got to know about it.

“T-Mobile wrote back to say that due to our strong feelings and opposition they decided to site it on top of a hotel in Pentwyn (Cardiff) instead.”

The proposed mast would have been within 500 metres of another T-Mobile mast next to the post office on Countisbury Avenue.

Nobody objected to this mast because, Mrs Whitehouse says, the planning notice for the mast was placed on a street in Roath – a 10 minute drive away.

She said: “This didn’t give the local people any opportunity to have any input which has taken away any rights we have.”

A spokesman for T-Mobile previously said: “Everybody wants to use their mobile phones, but if we did not have the masts we would not be able to offer a service.”

laura.wright@wme.co.uk

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10 May 2007

A village famous for toads and turbines is at the centre of a rumpus over telecommunications and a tower.

Mobile phone mast opponents are rallying against a proposal to site masts and equipment inside Winterton Parish Church's 132ft high flint-flecked tower - one of the tallest in the county.

Rising magnificently over seven levels, the tower has been targeted by QS4 whose offer is being considered by church officials who are having to balance local feeling and its accounts.

But the proposal has sparked concern and a petition with opponents saying they were mainly worried about health issues and fears about harmful emissions close to homes and a school.

However, agents for QS4,

the Church of England's approved telecommunications installer, have told borough planners they do not need consent to install the four 29m antennae, which involves swapping the existing flagpole with a T-Mobile one, because there is already something there.

The phone company's proposal, which is thought to offer annual rents worth thousands of pounds, is believed to be the first made to a church in the borough.

Last night Father Adrian Ling, priest in charge at Holy Trinity and All Saints, said: “It's all very much in its early stages. We have been approached to house a mobile phone mast in the tower. It is something we have been asked to think about and we are considering it.”

He added he had been assured that 200m was a safe distance away for the local school and stressed the proposal did not threaten plans to reopen the tower which was closed around 10 years ago amid mounting health and safety legislation.

Senior borough planner Dean Minns said: “There is no formal application at the moment. What these companies do is make a pre-application consultation. This is a Grade 1 listed building so we have to look at that in context.”

Central heating engineer Bob Bolch who lives nearby said QS4 had distributed a “very limited” number of letters and given an “unreasonably short” deadline of May 18 for public consultation.

He said: “A large number of residents in Winterton are extremely concerned and feelings are running high regarding the proposal.

“Many residents are still unaware of the proposal and the potential health risks associated with such an installation.”

The company is being pressed for a public meeting.

Copyright © 2006 Archant Regional. All rights reserved.

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May 10 2007

by Lyndsay Young, Formby Times

A MOBILE phone giant wants to put a mast next to the children’s play area at Duke Street Park a year after a previous application was refused.

T-Mobile wants to install a 2G/3G pylon on the grass verge at the corner of Duke Street Park near the roundabout.

It comes a year after mobile phone company O2 had its plans for a mast at the same site refused by the planning inspectorate.

Residents are being notified of the proposal by T-Mobile for the 11.7m high mast with three antennas and two cabinets.

The end of the notification period will be Tuesday, May 22, which is the earliest date a decision can be made and people have until then to voice an opinion on the proposal.

An earlier application by O2 had been refused by Sefton’s Planning Committee after the plans caused outrage among residents.

An appeal was dismissed in June last year. The planning inspectorate said the effects it would have on the appearance of the area outweighed the benefits of 3G coverage.

Councillor Barry Griffiths, who joined the campaign against O2’s plans, opposes the current application: “I’m totally against it because it’s adjacent to the children’s play area and opposite the library.

“It is on the grass area near the pavement so it can’t be covered.

“Particularly if you drive down over the hill down Kirklake Road it’s there in front of you.

“I think with the problems at the park the box will be damaged and there will be graffiti on it.

“We need to get a body together in Formby to fight all these masts as and when they come up – a central group that could tackle all these issues on behalf of the residents.”

© owned by or licensed to Trinity Mirror North West & North Wales Limited 2007

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May 10 2007

by Nick Moreton, Crosby Herald

MOBILE phone giant O2 has denied that a mast placed near to a baby’s bedroom puts residents in danger.

The mast, which was turned on in March, went up on a roof in Coronation Road, earlier this year.

But the property backs on to Second Avenue and the structure is just metres from houses there.

Joan Jenkins, who lives on Second Avenue, is concerned the mast is sending harmful rays into her house, particularly a bedroom in which her seven-month-old grandson regularly stays.

She said: “The phone mast is far too close to the bedrooms.

“My seven-month-old grandson stays in that room when my daughter comes and I’m worried about the effects of the mast on him.

“I have to tell her not to stay too long because I am worried about him being exposed to the mast while he’s here.”

Another resident, Nikki Burns, said: “I object to the mast totally - I can’t believe that something like that can go up without any consultation with local people.

“It seems to be cleverly sited to avoid the need for planning permission.

The mast is subject to a Government regulation called a General Permitted Development Order, which means it does not need planning permission because its height is less than six metres above the highest part of the building it is situated on.

The order means that although O2 has to tell Sefton Council of its intentions, the authority does not have the power to refuse the mast, provided it falls within the height restrictions.

A council spokesperson said: “Sefton Council was unable to grant or deny planning permission for this particular mast.

“This is because it is regarded as ‘permitted development’ under national legislation.

“In this case, the company informed us of their intentions merely out of courtesy and we were unable to raise any objections.”

O2 regional communications manager Tom Powell reassured residents the mast does not pose any health problems.

He said: “The houses actually fall outside the exclusion zone because the signal goes over the property, and people really need to take comfort from that.

“I accept the apparatus looks like it’s very close but the actual signal goes well above the houses.

“We do not have to get full planning permission because of the size of the structure.

“The World Health Organisation monitors what’s going on globally with phone masts and it says that all evidence to date shows there is no risk to health in living in close proximity to phone masts.”

Omega this is not true. See under:
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http://omega.twoday.net/search?q=Cancer+Cluster
http://www.buergerwelle.de/science.html

© owned by or licensed to Trinity Mirror North West & North Wales Limited 2007

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Rustington residents and school children protesting about the proposed mobile phone mast in North Lane

FAMILIES are fighting a proposed mobile phone mast yards from a children's play area and close to two Rustington primary schools.
No official application has been made to Arun District Council, and the first anyone knew of the plan was when a notice appeared on the gate of a Southern Water pumping station next to the Brickfields recreation area, off North Lane.

More than 100 people have signed a petition against the mast and Rustington Parish Council will discuss it as an emergency item at its meeting on Monday night.

Mary-Ann Wood, of North Lane, one of the organisers of the petition, said: "With the children's park and the schools nearby, we don't want this. The park is used by so many children, it's just irresponsible to even think of having a mast there.

"If it hadn't been for our 12-year-old grand-daughter, Laura, we wouldn't have seen the notice. It was white, rather than orange, like the Arun planning notices, and so small you couldn't see it from any distance. She said to us: 'Look. Nana, what they are doing.'

"Apart from the play area, the pumping station backs on to four gardens, including ours, and would be only yards from our home.

"I've written to the company on the notice and we are getting as many people to sign the petition as we can. I feel very strongly about this. There's no proof that these masts don't cause cancer."

Government guidelines say schools must be notified if applications are submitted for sites nearby, but it's not known whether Rustington Community Primary School or Summerlea Primary Schools, which is further away, would be within the distance required.

Rustington Parish Council recently objected to plans for a mast in The Street because there are several nurseries and pre-school groups within a short distance.

Tara Holmes, a parent at Rustington Primary, said she was concerned about the long-term effects of radiation from phone masts. "I don't know what emissions it would be giving out. I just don't think it's safe.

"These masts should be in the middle of nowhere, or at least well away from residential areas and definitely away from children, while their brains are developing.

"There are a lot of worried mums talking about this at the school gates."

Neither T-Mobile not its telecommunications consultant W H P Wilkinson Helsby was available to comment on the families' concerns.

An Arun planning spokeswoman confirmed no formal application for the mast had been received. She suggested letters should be sent directly to the address on the white site notice. Arun will not consider any comments until an application has been received.

All rights reserved ©2007 Johnston Press Digital Publishing

http://www.littlehamptontoday.co.uk/news?articleid=2866889

By News reporter

PLANS to put up a mobile phone mast have angered parents of children at the Prebendal School and the Chichester Society. T-Mobile wants a 12-metre mast on a grass verge to the north of the Avenue de Chartres roundabout in the city centre next to the school's playing fields.

Parent Mary Lacey said: 'To put a mast like that so close to a school is irresponsible.'

http://www.portsmouthtoday.co.uk/havant-and-w-sussex?articleid=2868224

All rights reserved ©2007 Johnston Press Digital Publishing



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=mast+near+school

By Rachel Lamb

FURIOUS residents say they have not been consulted over plans to erect a mobile phone mast just metres from their homes.

Communications giant O2 is in talks with Helensburgh Golf Club bosses about the possible installation of a mast on their land.

If given the green light, the proposed 20metre high structure will be installed on a quiet pathway overlooking Abercromby Crescent. But golf club members and householders in the area claim they have been frozen out of discussions.

Roger Waigh said: "If the golf club is prepared to put up with a mast that’s fine but the golf club members should be putting it to the vote. What I object to is the underhand way it's being done.

"If a mast was put there, I think it’s far enough away from the houses that it wouldn’t pose a health hazard but if people perceive that there is a health hazard, that’s what matters because that’s what affects house values."

Campaigners have vowed to fight the plans, which they say will create an eyesore and pose a health hazard.

Worried residents opposing the plans collected a petition of more than 50 names in just a few hours earlier in the week.

One worried mother, who did not want to be named, said: “They won’t erect phone masts next to a school because of the health risks but I have a four–year–old and a seven–year–old who will be sleeping next to one if these plans go ahead.”

Geraldine Martin, an Abercromby Crescent resident, can see the site from her window.

She said: “I don’t think it’s suitable to build it right beside properties when there is so much space in Helensburgh.

“Twenty years ago, people didn’t know about the dangers electricity pylons posed. Now I certainly wouldn’t buy a house next to one."

Concerned residents from the Abercromby Crescent area held a meeting in the Commodore Inn last night to discuss the proposals which have been submitted to council planning chiefs.

A council spokeswoman said: “It will be referred to the area committee in due course and will be assessed on its own merit.”

A spokesman for Helensburgh Golf Club would not discuss the mast. O2 were unavailable for comment.

http://www.helensburghadvertiser.co.uk/?module=displaystory&story_id=890&format=html

By Rachel Lamb

CAMPAIGNERS have vowed to fight plans to put a mobile phone mast in a prominent Helensburgh street – just two years after a similar application for the same spot was rejected.

Communications giant T-Mobile is seeking planning permission to build a 3G phone mast at Helensburgh Bowling Club, on the corner of East Abercromby Street and Sinclair Street.

In 2005, an application by Hutchison 3G to build a 60 foot phone mast at the same location was thrown out by Argyll and Bute Council's Planning Committee following protests from residents.

T-Mobile bosses have arranged a meeting on Friday morning so that residents and members of the community council can find out more about the development.

Campaigner Colin Ward contacted the Advertiser to voice his opposition to the phone mast plan.

He said: “The Planning Committee rejected the last proposal by seven votes to two.

"That should have been the end of the matter but once again we hear that a mobile phone company is considering the same site.

“This is a conservation area, it is cheek by jowel with people’s homes. If you were to try and think of the worst possible space to put one of these masts, it would probably be that site.

“People feel very strongly about this. If it gets to the planning application stage then certainly it will be opposed.”

Kathleen Siddle of Helensburgh Community Council is hosting the meeting at her home.

She said: “It will be an informal, pre–planning application consultation. I think T-mobile are trying to test the water and see what response they would get.

“The community council cannot spearhead a campaign but what we would do is support the neighbours.

"If the people I spoke to while handing out leaflets about the meeting are anything to go by I think there will be a lot of resistance.”

Anyone who wishes to find out more about T-Mobile’s plans can attend the public meeting which will be held at 12 Duchess Park, Helensburgh from 11am on Friday.

Those who are unable to attend but would like their views to be passed on can contact Kathleen Siddle on 01436 678328 or Catriona Malan on 01436 676272.

http://www.helensburghadvertiser.co.uk/?module=displaystory&story_id=900&format=html

nlnews@archant.co.uk
10 May 2007

PROTESTERS: Councillor Kate Salinger (right) and her Barnet Council colleague Councillor Mukesh Depala

A VICAR is being urged to ditch plans for a mobile phone mast on his church roof because it is claimed the technology would be capable of transmitting pornography.

The moral objection has been put to Father Bruce Bridgewood as objections to the mast at St Peter Le Poer Church, Colney Hatch Lane, Muswell Hill, mount among residents and campaigners.

The question of whether churches are suitable sites for mobile phone masts took a new turn when The Chancellor of the Diocese of Chelmsford refused permission to put a mast in a church in Chingford on the grounds that it could be used to deliver "revolting and damaging pornographic" material.

The decision is now being appealed aghianst by communications firm QS4 - the firm used by Church of England to install mobile phone equipment.

But campaigners hope that the ruling could influence the Chancellor of the Diocese of London when he comes to make a decision on the proposed mast at the Muswell Hill church.

The "porn argument" has won the backing of Councillor Kate Salinger (Conservative), who represents Coppetts ward on Barnet Council, and who has been campaigning against the Muswell Hill mast.

Councillor Salinger, herself a churchgoer, said: "There is no way that the church should be involved with anything to do with pornography.

"I think that the Chancellor is doing what I consider the church should be doing on this issue.If a church is installing this equipment, which it will make money from, which could then be used to transmit disgusting material, well then it is just not right."

A demonstration by around 50 protesters was staged outside the church as the congregation arrived for Sunday service. A petition containing 850 signatures has already been handed to Father Bridgewood, who has in principle agreed for the mast to be erected following discussions with his own church council.

He has been criticised for ignoring public feeling over the proposals, given that such a high number of people have expressed concerns.

Councillor Salinger added: "So far the members of the church have ignored a petition signed by 850 local residents, representations by local councillors and their MP.

"I belong to a church community and we believe in listening to the voices of the people who live around our church building."

Father Bruce Bridgewood described the porn argument as "ingenious". He said: "It is rather like saying we should not have PCs because some people use them to download child pornography. It seems like it is that sort of argument. The argument is true as far as it goes, but I don't think my personal opinion really matters on this."

Father Bridgewood questioned the strength of the petition. He claimed that, after analysis, many names were duplicated or did not live in the area.

He said that the church's parish council had been guided by the Church of England's own policies on mobile phone masts and Government guidelines.

He added: "This is an opportunity to raise money for the church, which is the only reason were are doing it. We can't run a church on fresh air.

Copyright © 2007 Archant Regional Limited

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Church Urged to Reject Mobile Phone Masts Over Porn Concerns
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/church.urged.to.reject.mobile.phone.masts.over.porn.concerns/10722.htm

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Mobile Mast Row At Church's Highest Court

Thursday, 10th May 2007, 12:56

Churches throughout Britain could lose out on millions of pounds in a landmark legal dispute over mobile phone masts on steeples transmitting pornography.

Campaigner Stephen Turner, who successfully blocked a plan for a new antenna on his local church, told an appeal hearing in the Church of England's highest court today that the church should not "act as a delivery boy for the pornography industry."

Allowing transmitters on its buildings would "profane the church", he said because they would relay "harmful" images of sex and child abuse and allow internet paedophiles to groom young victims.

At least 37 English churches, including Guildford Cathedral, have cashed in on the boom in mobile technology by charging thousand of pounds a year in rent to telecoms companies for allowing masts on their towers and spires.

But if an earlier decision by a diocesan judge is upheld, they could be forced to take the masts down, costing them millions.

Hundreds of other parishes are thought to have applied for permission to put up masts and the result of today's hearing will determine whether they will get the go ahead.

The row started when George Pulman, QC, Chancellor of the Chelmsford Consistory Court, became the first judge in England to refuse an application for an antenna on the grounds it was "wrong in law."

The parish of St Peter and St Paul in Chingford, Essex, stood to earn £10,500 in rent for a T-Mobile base station in its spire, which would have paid for upkeep of the Grade II listed 19th century building and community projects.

Mr Pulman, who was also a deputy High Court judge, agreed with local worshiper Mr Turner and refused permission saying it was no part of the "work or mission" to facilitate or make money from the transmission of "revolting and damaging pornography."

The rector of St Peter and St Paul and mast installation company QF4 have appealed against the decision to the Archbishop of Canterbury's 800-year-old Court of Arches.

Mr Turner, calling for the decision to be upheld, told the court that a transmitter on church premises would "allow child abuse images to be transmitted and also provide the facility for paedophiles to find children to abuse, as well as transmitting legal adult porn."

He added: "I would submit that this is not part of the Church's work or mission.

"It would profane the Church and is both contrary to biblical teachings and inconsistent with ecclesiastical law.

"If, as is stated in the Church of England's child protection policy, the Church is committed to and will champion young people both in society as a whole and in its own community it would not tolerate a facility that would allow the abuse of children."

Geoffrey Tattersall, QC, one of the three judges hearing the appeal, asked Mr Turner if he thought churches should not have computers for the same reason and also if there were not benefits to be had from better mobile phone coverage such as in emergencies.

Mr Turner replied: "It's a clear distinction to be drawn. A church with an antenna in its spire has no control over the fact there would be potentially child abuse images transmitted from that facility.

"It is not the responsibility of the church to provide mobile phone services. The church has the special responsibility which is different from normal secular society and it should follow its principles.

"I do not believe the Church has a duty to act as a delivery boy for the pornography industry."

The hearing at the historic St Mary le Bow Church in Cheapside in the heart of the City of London continues

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Porn fears over church mast
http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/redir.php?from=ec&to=1387182&l=porn_fears_over_church_mast



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