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Strawberry Hill residents are gearing up for the second round of a fight against a phone mast being built within 500m of two primary schools, after a telecommunications giant appealed the council's refusal.

T-Mobile applied to Richmond Council, in March, for permission to install a 18m tower with six mobile phone antennae at Strawberry Hill Golf Club.

The new mast would have been in the southeast corner of Strawberry Hill Golf Club on metropolitan open land next to the railway line between Fulwell and Strawberry Hill stations.

At the time of the application Derek Newson, of Strawberry Hill Road, said this would put it about 450m from St James's RC Primary School, on Stanley Road, and 320m from Stanley Infant School, on Strathmore Road In April, the mast was refused because it would be detrimental to the appearance of the area.

But T-Mobile lodged an appeal against this decision earlier and the national planning inspectorate will now make a final decision.

© Copyright 2001-2006 Newsquest Media Group

http://www.richmondandtwickenhamtimes.co.uk/news/localnews/display.var.902267.0.phone_company_appeal_mast_refusal.php

By Graeme Wilson,
Political Correspondent
(Filed: 04/09/2006)

Councillors have been banned from discussing local park-and-ride schemes if they own a car under an ethical watchdog created by John Prescott. There is shock at the scale of the chaos John Prescott has created

The Deputy Prime Minister is accused today of undermining local democracy and stifling free speech by imposing "draconian" rules on thousands of councillors.

A damning report reveals how local authority members are being barred from speaking or voting on subjects simply because they are perceived to have taken a position on the issue.

Even councillors who have been elected specifically to fight a particular issue have fallen foul of the rules and found themselves told they cannot speak or vote on it.

The controversy centres on the Standards Board for England, which was launched by Mr Prescott in 2001. The Deputy Prime Minister claimed that the new body would help to ensure high ethical standards in local government.

The board handles complaints about councillors' behaviour and is supported by a network of ethical standards officers, who are each paid £61,000 a year. Each authority also has its own monitoring officers who advise councillors on their conduct.

In 2003-04 the board handled more than 3,500 allegations and launched 1,105 investigations. Sanctions were imposed on more than 200 councillors who were judged to have breached the code of conduct.

The report's authors - Owen Paterson, the shadow transport minister, and Gerald Howarth, the shadow defence minister - said they were shocked by the scale of the chaos the Deputy Prime Minister had created.

There is particular concern about the board's belief that councillors should not be allowed to debate a subject if they have already made up their minds on the issue — the crime of "predetermination."

Councillors on South Cambridgeshire district council, for instance, were warned that they should not "pronounce on a park-and-ride scheme if they drove a car", says the report, A Question of Standards.

The report adds that the councillors were also told "they might be disqualified from discussing the siting of a mobile phone mast if they themselves used a mobile phone".

In another example, John Pickersgill, a member of Derwentside council in Co Durham, organised a local referendum on plans to build more wind turbines in his ward. His survey found that four out of five local people opposed the proposals.

However, when he tried to raise his findings in a council meeting on the issue, he was judged to have a "prejudicial interest" and was excluded from the room.

Despite concerns about the system, Sir Anthony Holland, the board's chairman, has defended the rules on pre-determination. "It simply means that decisions shouldn't be made if people are not willing to consider the alternatives, ie they must not have closed minds," he said earlier this year.

However, the Local Government Association, in a recent report, urged ministers "to ensure that councillors are not legally restricted from speaking out for their communities" on issues such as planning.

gwilson@telegraph.co.uk

© Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2006

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/09/04/nprescott04.xml

--------

Although I think this must have given everyone a good laugh for a Monday morning when John Prescott and ethics are mentioned in the same sentence, I feel this is very relevant to what we have been discussing recently re OFCOM. They surely are as biased as you can be when it comes to determining ethics and mobile phone masts!

Cheers
Sylvia


From Mast Sanity/Mast Network

Sep 1 2006

By Matt Smith

SOLIHULL MP Loreley Burt has added her weight to a campaign to stop a mobile phone mast being put up in Widney Manor.

Angry residents discovered letters from mobile phone company O2 on bank holiday weekend that an application for a 15-metre mast on Widney Lane close to the train station had been submitted.

The Solihull News reported in July that Austcliffe Road residents Carole Robertson and Clive Raybould took it upon themselves to stop the proposed plans by alerting 50 of their closest neighbours.

Now the duo have run off more than 300 leaflets and started a petition against the plan.

"We have already got a petition going," said Carole.

"But what makes me really angry is the tone of the letter from the planning department received on August 26 which said that the mast falls within a type of development that planning legislation permits without the need for planning permission," she added.

Lorely Burt MP has now written to planning chiefs at Solihull Council raising concerns over the proposed site for the mast and the poor level of consulatation.

She said: "I was phoned by a resident who told me notices had been received by a handful of residents and that they were delivered over bank holiday weekend, giving inadequate time to register objections.

"I have asked the chief planning officer to refer the application to the planning sub-committee bearing in mind the strength of local opposition. "I think that O2 should have another look at the location and see if they cannot site the mast a much greater distance away from local housing."

© owned by or licensed to Midland Weekly Media (Solihull) Limited 2006

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hg.editorial@archant.co.uk

01 September 2006

ANGER is mounting over a mobile phone company's plans to replace a free-standing mast in Lower Clapton with one which is more powerful.

Two years ago Landfield estate residents lost a battle against a mast which went up behind their homes on neighbouring property at the Braydon Motor Company in Rendlesham Road.

The council has now sent out letters asking for residents' views on a bid by mobile phone giant, O2, to replace the 15-foot mast with another, more powerful structure.

"There are schools all around here and I've never seen a mobile phone mast like this at such a low level," said Marilyn Vears, 55, chairwoman of the estate's tenants' and residents' association.

She added that residents feared the increased power of the mast could be an even greater health risk as it is positioned at a height of just 30 feet off the ground.

FOR THE FULL STORY SEE THIS WEEK'S GAZETTE AVAILABLE NOW.

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A RESIDENT hopes to get more than 2,000 signatures on a petition to stop a phone mast being put up next to a medical centre.

Dave Picton, of Tillingham Way, Stone Cross, was so incensed that mobile phone operator 3 had appealed against a decision to refuse permission for the mast, he set about gaining local support.

Now the petition is making the rounds throughout the village. It already has the backing of staff at the Stone Cross Medical Centre, which is located right next to the proposed site.

Mr Picton said, ''The mast is due to be sited next to the medical centre, will be in close proximity to Stone Cross primary school, the pre-school which meets in the memorial hall and the group which meets in St Luke's church.

''It's completely the wrong site.

''If there is no risk for the young, why do the government say that children younger than eight years old shouldn't use a mobile?

''No one wants the mast there. There is a mast further down Dittons Road, which the company has said is not big enough.

''Why don't they get their act together and site it somewhere where no one lives?''

Councillors at Wealden District Council threw out the proposal when it came before the development control south committee in May this year.

However 3 has appealed to the planning inspectorate against the decision.
The refusal notice from Wealden stated, ''The proposed siting of the 12 metre high 'telegraph pole' mast is unacceptable as it would result in a visually incongruous feature at an inappropriate location on the edge of the pavement immediately fronting a busy medical centre, with the possible risk of interference with equipment, and in close proximity to the local primary school, village hall and other community facilities where the general public, including children, regularly visit.''

Kelly Hartland, practice manager for Stone Cross Medical Centre, said, ''Our new doctors' surgery is not on the site location plan and we can only assume that it was not known that a medical centre was going to be built next to 3's preferred site.

''Last year we saw more than 59,000 patients for appointments at our sites in Westham and Pevensey Bay and we expect to be busier at Stone Cross.

''I do not have a suggestion for where it would be better suited, but I do not think that next to a doctor's surgery and a school is the best site.''

William Comery, spokesman for Ericsson which is creating 3's mobile phone network, said, "We have looked at a range of sites and the Dittons Road site was the one which met the criteria best in terms of coverage and how it fits in with the street scene.

"The government's own advice is that mobile phones do not interfere with medical equipment."

01 September 2006

All rights reserved © 2006 Johnston Press Digital Publishing.

http://www.eastbournetoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=488&ArticleID=1735940

Friday, September 01, 2006

AN appeal will be lodged with An Bord Plean·la before the end of this week against a decision to locate a mobile phone mast at Ballygunner GAA Club’s grounds.

The ‘Concerned Parents Against Masts’ group have confirmed they are putting the “finishing touches” to their appeal and will be sending it to Dublin by Friday.

It’s understood a letter has also been sent to the planning authority by the Parent Teacher Association at St. Mary’s National School in Ballygunner who are also against the development.

The club, who have done a deal with telecommunications company Meteor, received permission from Waterford City Council to retain the controversial mast on their grounds a fortnight ago.

However, local residents remain ‘up in arms’ over the decision, maintaining the city planning office has “let the community down” on the issue.

Last week, Ballygunner GAA chairman Pat O’Sullivan told the Waterford News & Star that he believed the mast posed no health risk to children at the neighbouring St. Mary’s NS, saying that 10 of his own grandchildren attended the school.

However, a spokesperson for the ‘concerned parents’ said this week that their fears weren’t in the slightest bit allayed by these comments.

“The fact of the matter is that we wouldn’t bother going to the effort we are if we didn’t genuinely believe these masts posed a risk,” she said.

“The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Telecommunications, of which local TD Brendan Kenneally is a member, has clearly identified children as being more vulnerable than anyone in these situations.”

“International research indicates that these masts pose a risk and that further research is needed. We don’t want our children in Ballygunner to become guinea pigs for this and so we will continue to fight this battle to the end.”

© Waterford News & Star, 2006.

http://www.waterford-news.ie/news/story.asp?j=23005

By Viv Mason

A THIRD phone mast is to be placed on Sowarth Industrial Estate, adjacent to Settle Primary School.

Craven District Council's planning committee approved an application from T-Mobile to place a 17.5-metre- high mast with three antennas and a dish on land adjacent to the electric sub-station.

However, Coun David Heather, chairman of Settle Town Council and ward representative for the area, said he was unable to support the plans because of health concerns.

"We have no way of proving that the installation will not be detrimental to the health of the children in the nearby primary school," he said.

"Since we cannot prove it, I feel that I would not be doing my job as a ward representative if I did not oppose this application."

Coun Marcia Turner also voiced concern, saying other poles were not being utilised and mast sharing should be pursued more urgently.

However, planning officer Ian Swain said the council had no power to force another operator to share a mast.

He added that shared masts made more of a visual impact on the environment because of their bulk and increased height.

"It was something we discussed, but was not feasible in this case," he said.

Coun Paul English told the meeting members could not take health issues into consideration.

"We can only do it on planning grounds and on planning grounds there is no reason why this should be refused. There are two other masts in close proximity. The only difference here is it's close to a school," he said.

"Probably most people here have a mobile phone. Those who use them do expect them to provide a service.

"Wherever a mast is built it is not going to be popular. In my opinion this is better than in many other locations," he added.

Coun Ken Hart said he refused to vote because health issues had not been proved one way or another.

"There is no proof that they do not cause harm, but there is no proof that they don't. If this application is approved, there will be three masts within 170 metres of a school," he said.

Omega see under:
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http://www.buergerwelle.de/body_science.html

The application attracted 19 letters of objection, including one from Settle Primary School headteacher Richard Wright.

The application had been accompanied by a declaration of conformity with ICNIRP (International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection).

Omega read "Base Stations, operating within strict national and international Guidelines, do not present a Health Risk?" under: http://omega.twoday.net/stories/771911/

The plans were approved by a majority vote with conditions, including the installation be implemented in accordance with the plans and any equipment no longer required be removed.

© Copyright 2001-2006 Newsquest Media Group

http://www.thisisbradford.co.uk/news/tibnews/display.var.901764.0.controversial_phone_mast_approved.php

31 August 2006

MOBILE phone chiefs who planned to install a mast yards from a primary school are set to have their proposals rejected.

Hutchinson 3G had submitted a planning application to Bexley council to install a five metre mobile mast in Park Crescent, Erith.

Residents feared the antenna may be harmful to children who attend nearby schools and launched an objection campaign.

Now the protestors are claiming victory as Bexley planning chiefs are set to turn down the plans at a committee meeting at the Civic Offices tonight.

Resident Harvey Bignell, who has chaired campaign meetings about the mast, said: "[The council] has had 500 plus letters, three very big petitions.

"It is the biggest uproar they have against any proposed mobile phone mast to date."

The residents, who are set to attend tonight's meeting in their dozens, have had the support of their ward councillors and MPs who are also against the mast proposals.

A spokesman for Bexley council confirmed the planning committee would recommend the refusal of the application.

John Austin, MP for Erith and Thamesmead, has urged residents to write to Hutchinson 3G to lodge their objection.

Erith ward councillor Bernard Clewes said: "I feel sorry for the residents who I think have been put through an awful lot of strain as this has been going on for some time.

"I am delighted that the officers are going to recommend that the mast is not accepted."

A spokesman for Hutchinson 3G was unavailable for comment as we went to press.

lisa.jarvis@archant.co.uk

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