World-News

The Intel computer company has invested heavily in developing WiMax wireless computer technology. WiMax was recently made available on the commuter train between Silicon Valley and San Francisco. No telling where it will turn up next.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission is auctioning off a portion of the radiofrequency spectrum to wireless companies and the government may make up to 15 billion dollars from this. No wonder they are so unwilling to acknowledge health risks.

John Lankes

Resolute Cubbington villagers protested in force this week against O2 plans to install a mobile phone transmitter in the heart of the village. The communications firm has launched an appeal against a Warwick District Council decision to block the 12.5 metre construction.

Campaigners of all ages gathered on a grass verge outside the Rugby Tavern pub, where the equipment would stand, on Wednesday.

Lorraine Wright and her son Daniel, 3, were among around 100 people at the demonstration.

Mrs Wright, 46, of Dunblane Drive, said: "It's not just now, but the future we have got to think about.

"There are two schools nearby and the parents are worried about the effects on their children.

"Of course everybody needs a signal but it's the close proximity to where people live and work that worries us.

"I know it sounds like 'not in my back yard' but there are other places where the mast could be put.

"I don't think we know enough about the risks to have this equipment right in the middle of a residential area.

"If this gets passed where will it end?

"Other companies will want to expand their network into residential areas too."

Campaigner Shirley Rush, of Rugby Road, has been rallying opposition against the appeal, which will be dealt with by written representations to the Planning Inspectorate in Bristol.

A decision is likely to be announced in October.

Mrs Rush said: "We sent 900 letters out and had 600 protests back, which we are sending on.

"We are not against mobile phone masts, we just think they should be in an appropriate area, not a busy road close to two schools."

District council officers did not state health reasons - given no weight in planning terms - as grounds for refusal.

Instead they ruled the mast would spoil the character of the area and have a "harmful visual impact".

An O2 spokesman was not available for comment.

But the firm has repeatedly insisted the Rugby Road site - which would extend 3G coverage in a two-kilometre area - was chosen with care and there are no adverse health effects.

* O2 has put in an application for another 12.5 metre mast on a highways verge near the Warwick Gates estate in Tachbrook Road, Bishops Tachbrook.

Susan Villis, 56, of Reignier Place, said: "While I appreciate these masts must be sited somewhere, is close proximity to a large population with many young families a good place?

"This is especially so in the light of many recent reports of health concerns connected to these masts.

"In many areas people have lobbied to have them removed or placed further afield.

"I feel the residents of Warwick Gates should be made aware of what is being proposed."

11 August 2006

All rights reserved © 2006 Johnston Press Digital Publishing.

http://www.leamingtonspatoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=691&ArticleID=1691269

By Linda Piper

PLANS to install the first mobile phone mast on the roof of a house in the borough are facing mass protests from residents.

Nearly 150 people turned out at a public meeting in Erith to hear the facts about the proposal and to put together a plan of action.

Hutchison 3G has applied to Bexley Council to put three antennas and two dishes on the top of 173 Park Crescent, Erith.

The house, formerly Riversfield Manor, was built in 1860 and is now divided into rented flats.

The proposal is to conceal the equipment in a false fibreglass spire, which could be up to five metres high, on the top of the house.

The rest of the equipment required for the mast would be housed in the loft.

Last week's packed protest meeting, held in Christ Church School, Lesney Park Road, heard the owner of the house had struck a deal with the mobile phone company and was likely to receive around £8,000 a year for the use of the roof if the mast is given planning permission.

A number of the people at the meeting were parents of children at nearby schools, who were angry they had not been notified of the plans until after they had broken up for the summer holidays.

Many people suspect the company deliberately delayed the application so it would have to be decided during the school holidays, when mass protests from Christ Church and St Fidelis primary schools and Erith School would be almost impossible to organise.

Residents had the support of both Labour and Conservative councillors who attended the meeting and Erith and Thamemead MP John Austin who urged people to write individual letters of protest.

People fear if the mast is given the green light, it could open the floodgates to other people who want to supplement their income, offering their homes as sites for phone masts.

The proposal will go to Bexley's planning control committee on August 31 and the council has said it will take into account any comments received up to August 28.

The residents plan to put up speakers at the planning meeting and to turn up en masse to show the strength of feeling against the plan.

The planning control meeting is open to the public and will be held in the council chamber at the civic offices in Bexleyheath Broadway at 7.30pm.

© Copyright 2001-2006 Newsquest Media Group

http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/display.var.875664.0.opposition_rallies_to_fight_off_mast.php

11 August 2006

A CAMPAIGNING mum is leading the fight against plans to put up a 12-metre-high mobile phone mast on her street.

Claire Barker, 32, who has four young children, collected 215 signatures opposing the t-mobile mast destined for the junction of Becontree Avenue and Bennett's Castle Lane, in Dagenham.

She says the mast, which will go up near an old people's home and three schools, is not just a health hazard, it could also increase traffic accidents.

Claire is also concerned for the well-being of her elderly neighbour, who suffers from leukaemia.

She said: "When I received the bad news a couple of weeks ago I was furious. I made up a petition for the shops and visited neighbours with my seven-year-old daughter, Paige.

"What I find shocking is that half of the people I petitioned hadn't even received a letter. It is terrible, considering this issue affects a lot of old people and children."

SEE PRINT EDITION FOR FULL STORY

Copyright © 2006 Archant Regional. All rights reserved.

http://tinyurl.com/h68y3

Concern is growing that a forest of telephone masts is being erected in residential areas and forced upon residents against their wishes.

A planning application has been submitted, to erect a 12.5m mast on the corner of County Gate with the A1000, despite there being an identical mast about 100m north on the same road. The neighbourhood is angry at the prospect.

Health issues relating to these masts are allegedly not yet proven. Neither are they proven to be safe.

Many respected scientific studies indicate health concerns, with young children being at particular risk. Masts are rarely erected near schools and hospitals yet children and residents spend far more time at home than in either of these places.

Councillors and residents are being forced to take part in a charade as Government policies pressure councils to ignore concerns raised regarding health and property values.

The vast majority of residents believe the mast will ruin a lovely green area, be a sinister eyesore and add to the depression and pressure residents suffer under increasing overdevelopment.

Similar proposals have been rejected in neighbouring wards and should be in this case.

Gordon Tweedale
County Gate, Barnet

© Copyright 2001-2006 Newsquest Media Group

http://www.edgwaretimes.co.uk/news/letters/display.var.873911.0.mobile_phone_masts_are_being_unfairly_forced_upon_residents.php

10/08/2006

VODAFONE is pressing ahead with its plans to build a mobile phone mast in Horsell Way despite massive opposition from residents.

The application by Vodafone was first made public in November, when residents were consulted on the idea of building a 10-metre construction on the junction of Horsell Way and Horsell Birch.

They condemned the plans as unsuitable and Woking MP Humfrey Malins wrote personally to Lord MacLaurin, chairman of Vodafone, to plead the case of around 100 families who had met him during a site visit.

Ward councillor Ann-Marie Barker said: “We suggested other suitable sites to Vodafone, including a site on Horsell Common that the Horsell Common Preservation Society said it would not oppose. But this was thought to be too far away. We also suggested the Littlewick roundabout but this was apparently in the green belt.

“The site is quite close to the Church of England and the Infant school isn’t far away either. The little place that they are proposing is called Buttercup Corner and it’s got rather nice green trees.

“Vodafone says the trees will mask the mast but they are deciduous so they won’t do all year round.

“It is a nice little spot where people go a lot but they would be confronted by this mast in a dense residential area. Cllr Richard Sanderson and I are working together on this to get a letter out to residents to let them know what Vodafone is doing and allow them time to get any objections in.

“I do think this is a highly inappropriate place for a mast.”

Caroline Brooker, a resident of Horsell Way, said: “We are really concerned to be honest because last year this application first emerged and we objected against it then.

“We have been messed around by Vodafone and it’s very stressful. The site is completely inappropriate, a mast would completely change the character of that spot.

“The cabinets that go with it would be obstructive. We are very disappointed but we are going to have a good fight.”

Copyright © Surrey & Berkshire Newspapers Limited

http://www.woking.co.uk/news/article/article_id=16653.html

http://www.burnham-on-sea.com/news/2006/phone-mast-09-08-06.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Burnham-On-Sea

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

By: Alan Healy

DESPITE ministerial intervention and a prolonged campaign by a close-knit community, a controversial mobile phone mast planned for Glenbeigh has been given the go ahead by An Bord Pleanála.

Kerry County Council had originally refused permission for the mast because it was to be sited less than one kilometre from residences and from Curaheen National School.

However Vodafone appealed that decision to the planning board which has now overturned the council’s decision. The news will come as a major disappointment for local residents who had mounted a vigorous campaign of opposition to masts in their area.

An Bord Pleanála has overturned a number of rulings on mobile phone masts made by Kerry County Council as the phone companies have argued that the council’s one kilometre ruling is unworkable as it would mean masts could only be located in remote areas where there is no demand for a phone network.

The planning board found that the council’s decision was at odds with the National Development Plan which calls for a quality mobile phone network throughout the country.

The mast is to be located 500 metres south-west of the Curraheen Bridge, off the N70 Ring of Kerry road. The planning application sought approval for the erection of an 18-metre wooden pole with three antennae and two dishes plus an equipment cabinet. Two local residents as well as An Taisce had submitted objections to the plan.

They claimed the mast would ruin the scenery along the Ring of Kerry, that it would devalue property, that it was too close to the school and residences and that locals had no problems with the current Vodafone network in the area.

Minister John O’Donoghue, who was extensively lobbied by locals on the issue, also made a submission on the application saying there was 100 per cent local opposition to the plan and he was anxious to know if the board would be taking the County Development Plan on board. However planning inspector Annette Yates, who examined the Glenbeigh case, recommended that the board give permission for the development saying she felt that Vodafone’s need for the service outweighs the potential loss of amenity in the area.

“I do not see how it would be possible to have a modern telecommunications system without having masts within 1km of places of employment or residency,” she said.

“There can be very few places in all of Ireland where there is not a house or place of employment within 1km,” she said.

An Bord Pleanála met on July 26 and members agreed with the inspector’s recommendation and granted permission for the mast. The decision comes despite a delegation of concerned Glenbeigh locals making a presentation to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Communications on May 31.

© The Kingdom, 2006.

http://www.the-kingdom.ie/news/story.asp?j=21477