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Kevin Smith - Bognor Regis Observer 14.12.06

Three controversial TETRA antennae could be installed in Bognor Regis town centre. News of the proposed installation comes less than three years after a community campaign to keep the town free from the telecom equipment. Strong fears surround the alleged health risks of the masts which are switched on around the clock providing a modern communication system for the emergency services.

Airwave MM02 has stated it wants to site the new antennae on the top of the town's only multi-story block of flats. It envisages putting up the structures, each about nine metres high, on the roof of the plant room which stands on the top of the roof of the 15-storey building in Queensway. The company's move comes after it was forced to remove the only previous TETRA mast in Bognor in May 2004.

A concerted campaign resulted in the mast being taken down from the roof of the Reynolds depositary in Canada Grove. Company owner Dominic Reynolds backed the campaign once they discovered the mast's presence three months earlier. His support for them meant 02 subsidiary Airwave had to dismantle the mast. Protestors spoke about sleepless nights, headaches, nausea and nosebleeds being caused by the effects of the continuous transmissions.

District councillor Paul Wells (Bognor Hotham) said: "I am extremely disappointed that, after all the hard work that went into removing the TETRA mast in 2004, 02 should want to put up another one in the heart of the town. There were a lot of concerns and fears of local residents about the alleged health risks caused by the previous mast. Now two years later, we are back to square one with regard to having to fight this matter. To have this particular system right in the middle of Bognor where people live and work is unacceptable in my opinion. I can't believe that 02 want to put this mast here after the previous campaign."

A TETRA mast is working in Felpham on the Bognor Regis Golf Club course.
02 threatened to take the club to court last march when it tried to cancel the contract to enable the mast to be sited between its fairways. Alan Taylor of Felpham Residents Against TETRA, said: "We did have a campaign to have the mast removed because we didn't want it there. Some people have alleged it has caused them some distress. If the police are so confident that the system is safe, they should have put the mast on the top of the police station."

Don Proctor, the planning director of RPS Planning, which has issued the consultation documents about the mast, provides details of the intended antennae. He says in a letter; "We are committed to seeking to address concerns regarding telecommunications equipment particularly where the siting of such equipment is near to sites such as schools and hospitals or near to residential areas."

02 has consistently maintained that the TETRA masts pose no danger to the public. It has been said that they meet all the relevant health and safety requirements.


Informant: Dances Alone

nlnews @archant.co.uk

13 December 2006

HARINGEY Council makes more than £250,000 a year from mobile phone masts situated on its land and buildings.

The council charges rent on the 25 mobile phone mast sites in the borough on its land, each raking in more than £10,000 in rent per year and totalling £257,000, which the council puts into "central funds".

This is on top of the business rates it earns from all 125 masts sited in the borough, which are collected by central government and redistributed across the country, based on local populations.

The council is now considering turning the tables - approaching mobile phone companies itself and offering its land and buildings for rent, anticipating one new mast will bring in another £10,000 per year.

Anti-phone mast protestor Sarah Purdy, who lives close to Fortismere School, Muswell Hill, argues the money should be ring-fenced to fight company appeals against council decisions to refuse their mast applications.

She said: "One of the reasons the council give for not refusing a phone mast application is that they say, 'Well, they will only appeal and win anyway and it is costly for the council'. So, we're saying, 'Look, you're getting this money from rent so why not use it for the appeal and not have it come from other sources. What are they doing with the mast money anyway?"

A spokesman for Haringey Council said: "As this income is provisional and therefore not guaranteed, it has not yet been allocated to a specific project or scheme and will go into central funds.

"This kind of income helps keep Council Tax bills down and provide much-needed services."

He added: "Potential litigation is speculation at this stage and even if it did occur, we have insurance cover for such situations, therefore there is no need to ring-fence this money.

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GLOBAL CORRUPTION BAROMETER 2006
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