World-News

DAVID BALE
23 March 2007 08:45

The fight against phone masts in Earlham Road has returned - this time with telecoms firm O2 appealing against a council decision to refuse permission for a mast.

Two months ago campaigners helped persuade Norwich City Council to turn down O2's plan for a 12.5m mast near schools and homes.

But now the company is appealing that decision to the Government's Planning Inspectorate, and families are gearing up for another battle.

Ward councillor Bert Bremner said: “We have challenged and won against plans for four masts in the area and won two appeals. We hope to win this next battle but time is running out to put in more objections.

“The community objected to these masts simply on planning grounds - the masts with their great big boxes are an eyesore.

“Earlham Road is a wonderful tree-lined residential road, cut through by the Norwich outer ring road. It is at that point that the mast is proposed.

“We are trying to keep the verge free from damage, parking and clutter. The mast and its associated equipment would be an ugly addition to the area. Putting in the mast on the verge, as proposed, would be a visual insult to the community.”

In January the council went against officers' recommendations to approve the mast after more than 40 people raised concerns and planning committee members received 11 letters of objection.

O2's appeal comes a month after campaigners beat a T-Mobile application to install an 11.8m mast near St Anne's Church on Colman Road. City council planners under delegated powers turned that down after more than 100 people objected. However, campaigners fear that if the new appeal were successful it would open the same area to an application by T-Mobile, which could result in two masts being set up.

The proposed O2 mast would be within half a mile of Heigham Park First School and St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School and within a mile of Earlham High School, whose deputy head Alan Shawcross expressed concern that a mast could be close to schools.

The Evening News is fighting the installation of mobile phone masts near homes and schools until it is proved they are safe as part of our Put Masts On Hold campaign.

In January 2005, Sir William Stewart, chairman of the National Radiological Protection Board, published an independent report calling for a precautionary approach to masts near homes and schools. An Evening News investigation in the same month revealed one in five primary schools in Norwich and its suburbs was within the threshold experts claim could put youngsters at risk.

To onbject, write to The Planning Inspectorate, Room 3/16 Eagle Wing, Temple Quay House, 2 The Square, Temple Quay, BRISTOL BS1 6PN, Ref: APP/G2625/A/07/2038177/NWF. The deadline is April 4.

Are you fighting a phone mast application? Call David Bale on 01603 772427 or email david.bale2 @archant.co.uk

Copyright © 2007 Archant Regional. All rights reserved.

http://tinyurl.com/297hlc

22 March 2007

A protest campaign in Hempnall has led to the rejection of controversial plans to erect a mobile phone mast a short distance away from the village school.

South Norfolk Council's planning department threw out T-Mobile UK's application without even putting the matter before members of the south west area planning committee.

The news has delighted local district councillor, Michael Windridge, who spearheaded the opposition.

“This is wonderful news for Hempnall School and residents living in the village's conservation area. People and parent power have ensured that common sense has prevailed on this most sensitive of planning issues. The decision by T-Mobile to promote this scheme was thoroughly insensitive, particularly as there was no demand whatsoever for a mobile phone mast in that particular location,” he said.

“I am sorry that - for legal reasons - the council is not able to adopt my call for a moratorium on all mobile phone mast applications close to schools and residential properties within the district until health concerns have been fully resolved.”

Miriam Elston, the school's headteacher, said it is recommended that children under six do not use mobile telephones and it is uncertain whether masts are a health hazard.

“We think we should be careful which is why I wrote in with an objection. We are very pleased that a mast won't be put right on the edge of the school,” she said.

The scheme was rejected because of the mast's unacceptable visual impact on the school, and the resulting anxiety it is likely to cause due to perceived health risks.

Copyright © 2006 Archant Regional. All rights reserved.

http://tinyurl.com/yw2ejx

Camden New Journal - by PAUL KEILTHY
Published: 22 March 2007

Cops silenced in Town Hall phone bungle

Planners rejected bid for essential communication mast

A RADIO ‘dead zone’ which prevents the £1.5 billion new police radios working in part of Hampstead is down to the refusal of Camden planners to authorise a new mast, police communications experts said last night (Wednesday).

Summoned to the Town Hall to explain why officers were reporting problems with the new Airwave radio system in buildings and on certain streets, Met radios expert Ch Supt Peter Goulding told councillors: “There are a very few streets at the top end of Hampstead where the coverage is slightly less than we would want it to be.

“This is… because of the shape of the hills in that particular area.”

To get full coverage, he said, it was necessary to install a telecommunications mast, alongside other ‘street furniture’ and phone masts. The application for planning permission had been denied last year, he added.

The Airwave digital radio system, which is expected to replace the ten-year-old analogue Metradio system by the end of next year, is run on a contract by phone giants O2 for the police nationally.

Designers hope that by operating more like a mobile phone than a walkie talkie it will allow police to communicate more effectively, especially in the Underground where radio problems were highlighted by reports into the response to the July 7 bombings.

O2 regional director David Robinson told the New Journal that the application to build a mast in West Heath Road, Hampstead, had been declined by the council’s development and control committee in December.

He said: “We have appealed it – and I would just impress on the local authority that we have that before them. There is a fall-back option on the roof of the Royal Free hospital, where there is already existing equipment.”
Because of a long-term roof replacement project at the hospital, it will not be possible to consider installing the mast until May.

Ch Supt Goulding told the New Journal that the streets which were not fully covered by the new system “could not be divulged for operational reasons”. He added that police vehicles had full reception across the borough and that the problem affected hand-held radios.

The discussion of the radio problem at the Housing and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee followed concerns raised by Camden police’s Supt Roger Smalley in February.

He told a community consultative group that officers trialling the new system: “Are finding that there is not complete coverage. This can cause some effectiveness reduction in reacting to incidents. There is also a health and safety consideration for officers.”

All content © New Journal Enterprises, 2006

http://www.thecnj.co.uk/camden/032207/news032207_08.html

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Report on TETRA
http://www.buergerwelle.de/pdf/report_on_tetra.doc

TETRA: A Critical Overview into the Death of Officer Neil Dring
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/308367/

A Popular Revolt
http://www.starweave.com/ecologist/



http://omega.twoday.net/topics/TETRA/
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=TETRA

What happened to politicians and councillors that actually cared and did their jobs... their jobs being looking after the local people in their wards?

I have contacted my local councillors, very concerned about the proposed T Mobile mast in Roughmoor Way.

This mast will be sited approximately 50 metres from our houses, approximately the same from George Tweed Gardens (an old folks' home) and it will enclose Brookfield School within three masts.

Nobody has got back to me.

We only have until the March 26 to object (we only learnt about it on March 8).

Have I got it all wrong or are our MPs and councillors meant to act on the concerns of the people?

Or is this a case of ground rent from T Mobile being more important than us?

Apparently, all we have to do is ask our councillor to bring the case to planning to be discussed and allow us time to object.

We did this and what a surprise - nothing has happened.

These masts are not to be taken lightly.

Many studies report the fourfold increase in malignant tumours within 500m of them.

The small paragraph in the supporting statement from T Mobile quoting The Stewart Report (May 2000) fails to mention that Sir William Stewart retracted that statement and admits he tested for thermal effects and not the more harmful non-thermal effects.

The Human Rights Act has been used many times of late and my neighbours are in "justifiable fear of ill health" - maybe this will kick the complacency out of my councillors and MPs.

Come on, do your job - unless your job is to put Swindon tenants at risk, forget about them and collect your ground rent.

J Eatwell.
Middleleaze.
Swindon

© Copyright 2001-2007 Newsquest Media Group

http://www.thisisswindon.co.uk/news/swindonletters/display.var.1277824.0.they_wont_listen_to_us_over_phone_mast.php

http://tinyurl.com/2qlxwj



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

A Devon village pub landlord says he will not let churchgoers use the pub car park if a mobile phone mast is installed at the village church.

Marldon church and its parochial council wants to let T-Mobile install the mast on top of the church tower in return for being paid £4,000 a year.

The church's bell-ringers are against the plans and threatening to stop ringing if the mast goes ahead.

The Rev Peter Bellenes says people should calm down and allow a debate.

'Health risks'

T-Mobile is offering to pay the church £75,000 over 20 years to house the mast.

The parochial church council said it was a financial option it had to consider to keep and maintain the church, parts of which date to the 15th Century.

Bell-ringers say they are concerned about potential health risks if they are playing in the church tower.

T-Mobile said studies showed people living near to mobile phone base stations faced "extremely low" potential health risks from exposure to microwave radio transmissions.

It said the overall evidence indicated that such stations were unlikely to pose a risk to health.

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

Julian Cook, landlord at the Church House Inn, said if the move went ahead he would end the practice of letting Sunday morning worshippers use the pub car park.

The Rev Bellenes described the move as "sad".

He said people had become polarised early on in the debate, and it was time for people to be "less entrenched".

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/england/devon/6478619.stm

Published: 2007/03/22 10:31:28 GMT

© BBC MMVII



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=church+phone+mast

By Mairead O’Shea

Pat Hannon, Chairman of the Ballygar residents group addresses a public meeting in the town where plans by O2 for the erection of a mast are being opposed. The residents of Cloonlyon and Ballygar have vowed to fight plans by O2 to erect a mobile phone mast in the area. Almost two hundred people turned out at a public meeting in Ballygar last Thursday night to voice their concerns over a proposal to erect a 36m mast in Cloonlyon village.

O2 Communications Ireland applied to Galway County Council on February 20th for planning permission to erect a 36m antennae at Cloonlyon, Ballygar.

Mr Pat Hannon, chairman of the local residents group, explained that people had serious concerns over possible health effects, the devaluation of property and the obtrusive nature of the proposed mast.

“We have serious concerns on the grounds of possible health risks to humans and livestock. We heard from a farmer from County Tipperary at the meeting who experienced such health effects. The proposed mast is also in an area of local scenic beauty as at is on a walkway in the woods, which is regularly used by the people of the area. At 130 feet we feel that the mast will be enormous and we also fear that it will devalue property in the area,” said Mr Hannon.

The chairman went on to point out that three mobile phone antennae were already located on a mast on Mount Mary, which was only 3.5km from Cloonlyon. “I can’t understand why O2 can’t co-locate with the existing mast on Mount Mary. It’s only 3.5km from Cloonlyon and it covers an area from Glenamaddy to Athleague,” said Mr Hannon.

TDs and local councillors offered their support to the residents in their fight against 02.

The speakers at the meeting included Mr Con Colbert, Secretary of the Irish Doctors Environmental Association.

Mr Colbert referred to the guidelines issued by the World Health Organisation on permissible levels of radiation as “thousands of times higher in Ireland and the UK than in the US and Australia”.

The local residents are this week preparing individual and group objections to the O2 proposal. They have a further two weeks to lodge an objection with Galway County Council. Mr Hannon pointed out that plans were also underway to hold a public protest on the issue outside the offices of Galway County Council in the coming weeks. He said that residents would fight the O2 proposal and if necessary appeal the decision to An Bord Pleanala.

© Roscommon Herald, 2007.

http://www.roscommonherald.ie/news/story.asp?j=5674&cat=news



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