World-News

Eric Jenaer, Nuisance des microondes: les photons seraient-ils responsables?
http://www.next-up.org/pages/nouvellesdumonde63.php#1

Woman 11th July 2006 is carrying a new article on e-smog.

http://www.buergerwelle.de/pdf/woman11July102.jpg
http://www.buergerwelle.de/pdf/woman11July(2)104.jpg


With kind regards

Sarah Dacre MSc ACIB
London, UK

By Maddy Biddulph

Vodafone, T-Mobile and other operators should be forced to notify residents in advance about where and when masts could be built in their area, Oxford city councillors have decided.

They unanimously passed a motion that telecommunications companies should warn people about their plans - regardless of whether planning permission or prior consultation is needed.

This would stop mobile phone firms putting up transmitter masts without consultation or planning permission, under permitted development rights. continued...

City councill Labour group leader Bob Price called on the Government to bring national regulations in England and Wales in line with Scotland and Northern Ireland, where all mobile phone mast applications have to go through the full planning process.

Mr Price, who proposed the motion, said: "It's a wake-up call to the Government to realise the depth of concern about mobile phone masts.

"It needs to take stronger measures to guarantee public consultation." 'It is a wake-up call to the Government to realise the depth of concern about mobile phone masts, and it needs to take stronger measures to guarantee public consultation' Councillor Bob Price

The council's stance does not alter the legal situation, but is designed to put pressure on ministers.

It comes after protests earlier this month brought a halt to proposals to build masts at the Marlborough House pub, in Grandpont, and the Chester Arms, off Iffley Road.

T-Mobile agreed to review its plans and put installation on hold after hundreds of objectors turned out at public meetings.

The firm did not need planning permission to carry out the work, as it had permitted development rights for both sites.

Tim Treacher, of Western Road, in South Oxford, who campaigned to stop the phone masts being built at the pubs, welcomed the councillors' vote.

He said: "What happened with the Marlborough House and Chester Arms is a good indication where, because the firm did such a cursory survey before they started actual work, they were not aware the sites were near schools, nor of the strength of feeling in the area."

Edward Newell, another anti-mast campaigner, said: "The Government should never have allowed the mobile phone companies to put these things up exactly where they wanted them in the first place."

A spokesman for the Mobile Operators' Association - which represents UK mobile phone operators on planning issues - said removing permitted development rights would do nothing to address the concerns some people had about masts.

She said: "Operators follow the guidance in the Code of Best Practice and the Ten Commitments, which identifies on a case-by-case basis what consultation should be carried out, in addition to that required by statute.

"It would not be appropriate to address any perceived weaknesses in the current permitted development/prior approval rules through their abolition.

"They should be addressed by improving the efficiency with which local planning authorities consult locally over prior approval proposals and process objections from local residents."

8:55am today

© Copyright 2001-2006 Newsquest Media Group

http://www.oxfordmail.net/news/headlines/display.var.826025.0.early_warning_call_on_masts.php

By Lynn Jackson

DUTY OF CARE: Stourfield heads Emma Rawson (juniors, left) and Cathy Kirkham (infants), who are concerned about a planned phone mast at Warnford Road, across the railway line from the school, with pupils in the playground. Picture: Hattie Miles.

HEADTEACHERS at two Bournemouth schools are urging local people to fight plans for a new mobile phone mast a move which has "horrified" parents of youngsters at the schools.

Phone operator O2 wants to put up a 12.5 metre mobile mast on Warnford Road in Southbourne, disguised as a fake telegraph pole.

But the bid has shocked staff at nearby Stourfield Infant and Junior Schools, who fear the health of their pupils could be put at risk.

Headteacher at the infant school, Cathy Kirkham, said: "The children in my school are very young. continued...

"Nobody can be certain that such a mast will not have a detrimental effect on children's development and health."

Junior school headteacher Emma Rawson added: "Both schools are working exceedingly hard to fulfil the government agenda of Every Child Matters. This includes helping children to stay healthy and safe.

"We are well supported in this by our community and so plans to erect a mobile phone mast close to our schools have caused a fierce reaction from our parents."

The headteachers say their concerns about the plans are strengthened by evidence found in the government-commissioned Stewart Report on telecommunications, which suggests that children are more vulnerable to exposure and will absorb more energy from external electromagnetic fields than adults.

And parents of children at the schools are already joining the fight against the mast.

Mum Natalie McMullen, whose nine-year-old daughter attends Stourfield School, said: "I think it's disgusting that they want to put this mast so close to the school and houses.

"All the mums I've talked to are horrified about this. My daughter has only two more years at the school, but I feel for the children who are in the infants."

Phone operator O2 said it chose the mast site on Warnford Road after rejecting several other potential locations that were even closer to the school.

The company also says it did not consult with the schools before submitting its planning proposal to Bournemouth council as they were not within 200m of the mast.

The Stewart Report identified the area between 50m to 200m from the base of a mast as where the signals will be at their strongest.

It recommended that both the school and local authority should be consulted if a mast is sited within this distance from schools.

Both Stourfield headteachers say they intend to go along to a meeting of Bournemouth council's planning board on July 17 to "do all they can to exercise their duty of care and protect their pupils and staff".

10:38am today

© Copyright 2001-2006 Newsquest Media Group

http://www.thisisdorset.net/display.var.825340.0.headteachers_add_weight_to_fight_against_mobile_mast.php

By Ruth Keeling

A mobile phone company has lodged an appeal after Oxford City Council refused to allow it to put up a pine tree-shaped mobile phone mast.

Vodafone was told in February that the appearance of the 15m mast was inappropriate and that the site it had chosen near the Oxsrad Sports Centre in Marsh Lane, Marston, was also not suitable.

It is the latest in a long line of applications and appeals by companies which want to put up masts in the area to improve their service. continued...

In March, the planning inspectorate upheld the council's claim that a Vodafone mast, planned for the corner of Jack Straw's Lane and Marston Road, would be poorly situated next to a busy cycle path and bus shelter.

But he did not agree with the council's claim that the company had not properly investigated sharing a site with other mobile companies.

In the same month, the inspector refused T-Mobile's plan for a 12m mast outside Marston Medical Centre in Cherwell Drive, which was to look like a telegraph pole.

An application by the same company for a 10m mast at the same site was also refused by the city council after more than 1,000 people signed a petition against the idea.

Plans for 3 Mobile to erect a mast on the roof of St Michael and All Angel's Church, in Marston Road, have also been dropped, according to curate Rosemary Rycraft.

Labour city councillor for Marston Mary Clarkson said: "They just keep on and on. It is annoying because they don't seem to be following the code of practice.

"What I'd like to see them do is going away to talk to other operators and try to find a site to share."

She was optimistic that the planning inspectorate would uphold the council's latest refusal. She said: "We have got several grounds for refusing and I am hoping that the visual impact will stand up.

"The mast design looks quite silly and is quite obviously not a tree."

Vodafone spokesman Rob Matthews said: "Vodafone doesn't take the decision to appeal lightly and we undertook a thorough review of the reasons for the refusal.

"We do not agree with the reasons for refusal and feel that this site will not be visually intrusive as it blends in with surrounding tree cover.

"We have undertaken a thorough review of all potential site sharing options, none of which were suitable."

9:11am Friday 7th July 2006

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http://www.oxfordmail.net/news/headlines/display.var.822984.0.company_appeals_for_mast.php

Jul 7 2006

By Matt Smith

EVERYONE needs good neighbours, or so the saying goes - and that's certainly true if you live in Widney Manor.

Campaigning duo Carole Robertson and partner Clive Raybould have taken it upon themselves to stop proposals to put up a 15-metre mobile phone mast by alerting 50 of their closest neighbours.

The Austcliff Drive residents claim just four letters outlining proposals by O2 to put up the base station including a 15-metre mast at Widney Lane leading to the train station were sent out by the company.

"We've taken it upon ourselves to photocopy the proposals and post it around to neighbours in Widney Lane, The Spinney and Austcliff Drive," said Carole.

"They were gobsmacked and really very cross because the proposal is very close to houses. It will be an eyesore and and obviously have an knock-on affect on all our properties."

The couple are now waiting for a planning application to be submitted to Solihull Council but have already planned to start a petition if they do.

Carole, aged 63, who has lived in Austcliff Drive for eight years, is no stranger to taking on mobile mast applications after successfully defeating Orange's plan for one two years ago.

"That plan was also close to the train station and we started a petition against it which was a success," she added.

"If 02 do go for planning permission which I expect them to, we'll start another petition."

© owned by or licensed to Trinity Mirror Plc 2006

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Jul 7 2006

By Mark Coleman Slough Reporter

PLANS for a mobile phone mast in Langley are ringing up a furious outcry from people in the area.

Telecoms giant O2 wants to build a 40 foot high antenna in Burroway Road, on the Parlaunt Estate,near the junction with Market Lane - just feet from the green belt of the Colne Valley Park.

But people living nearby say the development will blight the area and send potentially harmful radiation into their homes.

Pensioner Glyn Gilbert, 74 (right), of Burroway Road, is leading a Dad's Army team to oppose the application. He says: "This idea is appalling.It will clutter up the pavement, which is a real problem for the elderly,people with disabilities, and parents with young children.

"The development will also beam powerful microwave radiation throughout the area.

"This mast is for the next generation of mobile technology,called 3G, which is much more powerful than ordinary portable phones. Essentially, the engineers have turned the heat up in order to transmit video. And we don't want our brains to fry."

Britain's biggest union, Unison, has called for a ban on 3G phone masts until boffins have decided on the health implications.

And the magazine What Doctors Don't Tell You reports how the informal national pressure group Mast Sanity has found more than 18 sites in the UK with clusters of health problems close to mobile base stations.

Another angry Market Lane resident, told the Express: "The obvious place to build a transmitter is on land near to the canal path or the railway, which should give a line of sight signal into the Parlaunt Estate.

"But placing it on an amenity site is unwelcome,unattractive,and uncommonly ugly. We expected more from a Slough-based company. They should be ashamed of themselves."

© owned by or licensed to Trinity Mirror Plc 2006

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PEOPLE power has won a victory against mobile phone giant Vodafone

In March, St Andrews parents launched a campaign against a proposal to site a 15-metre mobile phone mast close to their homes.

Following neighbour notification, to householders near the proposed site at St Andrews United Football Club's ground in Langlands Road, families concerned over the possible health risks of having the Vodafone radio base station in their midst signed a petition opposing the plans.

Grandmother Alicia Jackson was so worried she wrote to her MP, Sir Menzies Campbell, MSP Iain Smith and local councillor Jane Ann Liston.

"It is people and their well-being that matter,'' she told the Citizen.

Vodafone stressed that emissions from the mast would comply with, and even be "many times lower'' than, guidelines set out by the International Commission for Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNRP).

However, campaigners worried these levels could damage people's health pointed out that those adopted by countries such as New Zealand were much lower.

One of the campaign leaders, Mrs Claire Gorgon of Shields Avenue, told the Citizen this week that Vodafone was not going ahead with the proposed site at the football club.

"The letter from Vodafone's agents does not include reference to our campaign, although I am certain the outcome would not have been as favourable had the local community not intervened in the way they did.

"I would like to thank all those who gave valuable support and advice, especially those who took the time to write to Vodafone and their agent.

Without their help, I am sure we would have had a far harder fight on our hands.

"It is good to see that action on a local level can have such a desirable outcome, and I am over the moon that my two daughters and the rest of the community will remain in a happy, healthy, environment.''

A spokeswoman for Vodafone said the company was in the process of "re-evaluating'' the deployment of the 3G network communications programme across the AUK.

In a letter to Mrs Gorgon, confirming that the site at St Andrews United Football Club would not be going ahead in the near future, the agent said the 3G network was due to be comprehensively developed within the St Andrews area and the re-evaluation would have a "considerable impact'' on the way sites, originally proposed in St Andrews, would go ahead.

"We wish to assure you that any future site in the St Andrews area will be undertaken in the same transparent manner as this proposal, with complete commitment to providing the community with sufficient information,'' she added.

07 July 2006

All rights reserved © 2006 Johnston Press Digital Publishing.

http://www.fifenow.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=1022&ArticleID=1614606

By David Bartlett

COUNCIL bosses today said they had to approve a controversial mobile phone mast because their hands were tied by government guidelines.

It comes after a mast for St Silas Church, St Silas Road, Blackburn, was given planning permission.

The mast will replace a flagpole and would have three phone antennae inside. continued...

The Government has said there is no conclusive evidence of links between phone masts and health problems.

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/body_science.html

And Coun Andy Kay, executive member for regeneration, said: "Like all councils, our planning decisions have to be made in line with national planning policy.

"Because of this, we are not allowed to turn down planning permission for a mast like this on the grounds of public health."

Today, resident Danielle Ellis said she would fight the plans and appealed to the church to re-think the plan.

Ms Ellis, who lives behind the church in Azalea Road, said she had serious concerns about the radiation from phone masts. I am horrified at the church for inflicting this mast upon us.

She said she had not ruled out appealing the planning decision, and was hoping to arrange a protest outside the church.

The mother-of-three appealed for any other neighbours with concerns to get in touch.

"I am so disappointed in the council for not protecting our children.

"And I am horrified at the church for inflicting this upon us which goes totally against the church's teaching," she said.

Ms Ellis whose children are aged 10, six and two, said the church was near to three nursing homes and five primary schools, and the council was wrong not to take into account health risks or even perceived health risks.

Before the plans were heard in front of the committee, nearby schools Al-Asr Primary School and Westholme School both wrote to object to the plans.

The letter from Al-Asr stated: "If the council wants to go ahead and let mobile corporations put up transmitters in residential areas then for goodness' sake let's not put them near our schools."

Canon Arthur Ranson, said: "The church council considered this carefully, the proper consultation has taken place and we have been given planning permission."

He said the mast still had to be approved by the Faculty Jurisdictions of the Church of England, which decides on material changes to churches. This could take between four and eight weeks.

"It will help us financially in these difficult days, I can't deny that, but I would say that it's not a fantastic amount," he said.

The council has been given assurances by the applicant, a company which acts on behalf of mobile phone companies, that the mast will be operated with independently set safety guidelines.

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

7:00pm Thursday 6th July 2006

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http://www.blackburncitizen.co.uk/news/newsheadlines/display.var.822153.0.we_had_to_approve_mast_plan.php