Philip Attaway

Has anybody any experience of fighting off planning permission for a mobile phone mast.

I returned home last night to find a letter from the council telling me that Orange PLC have applied to erect an 8m high mast not 10m away from the end of my garden!

I have 21 days to object from the date of the letter which was the 14th, so it's taken a week to arrive! Snidey *****

Any advice/experiences would be most appreciated

Phil

Dracoro

What is your objection to it? will it look right out of place or is it a 'not in my backyard' type thing? They sometimes put up masks disguised as trees (but dead ones unfortunately)

Local council would be a start.

rik1471

At least you'll have a quality signal (if you're on Orange )

richardg

i objected to something in epping a while back, right next door to some houses we'd just built. it was a police comms mast which went up without notice so we fought it through the planning process. the planners were pretty slow dealing with the whole thing and eventually issued an enforcement notice. some months later the mast disappeared though.

take a look here - http://www.planning-applications.co.uk/page1.htm (note: there was some really useful info on here about some of the telecomms acts and what rights operators have and what recourse those affected by masts have; but i had a quick look this morning and i can't find it now!! take a look around through - you may have more luck than me)

lots of info on how to deal with this sort of thing. good luck; mast operators have a reputation for playing the system so don't expect to get a quick result.

Philip Attaway

I'm not on Orange

I am worried about the health aspects.

It is still not proven that there are no risks from these masts. Although the radiation is less than a mobile phone, I do not go around with it glued to my ear 24/7.

I have a pregnant wife and guidelines say that young children are affected far more than adults and so the masts cannot be near schools.

A child is only in school a few hours a day. They spend far more time at home yet it's ok to put one up at the end of my garden!

SiPie

Had exactly the same thing recently (from Vodafone though !)

Spoke to Kenny (Saxo Boy) (planning officer) and he advised NOT to even bother to object on health grounds as the actual risks are less than you get from your own phone etc etc (plenty info on-line re the actual health risks)

If you want to object then object saying it's unsightly etc....

However he mentioned that the government are very keen to pass these applications (to improve coverage) so it's unlikely you'd succeed.

However.....

You'd be amazed how easily these masts can be taken down (allegedly, and especially very early in the morning with the right type of saw)

Goood luck

carl

What's the problem? It's non-ionizing radiation. We have one at the end of the street. I bet these NIMBYs are the same people who complain to their network operator that they've got crap coverage!

King Eric

My local Orange mast went down last night

I rang them,

The girl on the other end of the phone then told me you would not believe how many masts are hidden inside Macdonalds signs (the golden arches) so Macdonalds kills you two ways these days....

The reason our mast is not fixable right away is they have to get planning permission to get on the site

Just something to add to the debate

Philip Attaway

NIMBY??

It's at the end of my garden, not down the end of my street and no doubt wiping a few quid off the value of my house as I certainly wouldn't buy a house with a mast at the back!

carl

So you don't want it in your back yard, hence NIMBY...

Mobile phone antenna at the end of the garden wouldn't bother me, personally.

mart360

find out who has a vested interest....

if the mast is going on council land, then its a done deal, all you will do is delay the inevitable.....


Mart

SiPie

But......do you ever use a mobile phone?

From all the research I have read (quite a bit by the way !) the mast is a lot less harmful

Milamber

iTrader: (2)

Don't put that in your objection though (at least not without other grounds) Health is not part of the planning process. The trouble you have got is that the Government really want these masts to go up to increase the 3G coverage.

We objected to an Orange mast being put up in a field disguised as a tree, orange withdrew their application and the re-submitted one situated directly outside a childrens play area. Mercifully that was refused.

Philip Attaway

Yes, but very rarely. PAYG man me and most of those calls are because of delayed public transport.

Less harmful yes, not NOT harmful.
The mast is constantly working. I may have a mobile up against my ear for a few minutes now and again but not 24/7

Exactly. Everyone throws their arms in the air when it's near a school or kids play area and it is often refused but not when it's at the end of my garden where in 6 months there will be a little one in the house, as well as all the surrounding neighbours with kids.

Leslie

I think it is totally reasonable not to want a mast that close to your property which is lowering the value of your house and spewing out microwave radiation 24/7.

Les

Dracoro

I think you'll find they change the location as it's easier than trying to explain to a load of ignorant parents the fact that their kids aren't in danger. They just won't listen anyway. FFS, most of them have a microwave oven or use a mobile phone (and give them to their kids too!) that produces far more 'pollution' than a mast 20 yards away. I assume they don't take them into town or to maccy dees as well, what with all the masts that are there?

Why are you afraid of the mast? what grounds (apart from rumour, heresay, bloke down pub, daily mail etc.) do you have for suspecting harm will come to your kids?

As for 'devaluing' your property, well this 'may' affect it, but by how much? Are you intending on selling soon? Does it really matter in the long run? What if the phone company/council were to compensate you for your 'loss'?

By all means, oppose the mast, but do some proper research to back up your case. Is anyone else affected, other properties etc.? Your case will be better backed up my many others objecting to the same mast.

Philip Attaway

Microwaves don't leak radiation (if they are working correctly) and if it makes you feel happier, I don't own one
You seem to be unable to grasp the point that I don't live in McDonalds, or a petrol station. That would be my choice to visit. I don't seem to get any choice when one is plonked at the bottom of my garden beaming waves 24/7

Because there is no proof that they definately don't cause any harm and yes, it will devalue my property.
Most people get an Environmental search when they move these days, just like we did 4 months ago which was clear of any such things.
Any future search would show a mast near by. Not that they would need a search as there will be an 8m mast at the end of the garden for them to see in all it's glory.

Which mobile company do you work for then

Brendan Hughes

....says the ex Vulcan bomber (with nuclear payload) pilot

mightyyid

We've had this a number of times, and the way forward was directed by a local householder who did the usual thing - petition, sample letters to all the neighbours to send etc, and lots of campaigning. We all visited the local parish council meetings (75 people when normal turnout is 10) and this was because of a number of plans submitted by both Vodafone and Orange (although separate masts).

It took time - about a year, but it all went pear shaped in the end. The Orange masts eventually got rejected because the land they were siting it on was not adopted by anyone thus fell into the land of the people, rather than the council and that went away. The Vodafone just went Pete Tong because of the opposition of local people and the anger it caused. I, like others did not want a mast at the end of our road (and we were further away than the main instigator of the campaign) and regardless, I've yet to see any conclusive evidence that says they do not do harm.

It's a bit like telling people in 2020 that mobile phones were bad for you because new technology allows us to measure it now. I'm not taking that chance.

You can beat the gits and get the council to refuse but it depends on the weight of public opinion and all that. I'd certainly not want to give up, but you need to fight. Good luck.

If you search the net, I'm sure you'll find plenty of existing campaigns that people are doing - just tap into those resources.

Andy

Philip Attaway

Thanks Andy

A talker of sense

Phil

SiPie

http://www.zyra.org.uk/phonmast.htm

andy97

iTrader: (1)

They need it that close to your house so they can hook up to your mains

Chelspeed

The only way it will devalue your house is if enough ignorant luddite nimby's keep whinging on about it. If everyone just accepts that mobile phones need masts and get on with life then having one near your house is no longer a negative thing it's a good thing as you get better coverage.

Admitting to using a mobile phone, however infrequently, while moaning about masts is just like shooting yourself in both feet.......

And of course it's impossible to prove something is safe. What could be proven is if there was any danger, there'd be clusters of whatever around each mast. But there aren't so it isn't.

And no I don't work for one of the mobile companies.

carl

That's not the way things are proven. There is no proof that they do cause any harm. You have suggested a causal link between mobile phone radiation and detrimental effects on health. Then it is down to you or someone else spouting this to prove it, not the other way round. All the relevant authorities (Radiocommunications Agency, Department of Health, whoever) are happy that there is no danger.

It's like me starting up a campaign in the Daily Mail suggesting a causal link between eating sardines and leukemia. I can't just suggest it and then use as evidence the fact that no-one's proven it's not true...

Hanslow

If you've got the time object to it. If it gets rejected they can move the mast site a few centimetres or change the details slightly and reapply again. It could turn out to be a long drawn out affair, it might not.

This happened to some friends of ours but with wind turbines. They kept objecting, the application kept changing until finally it was passed.

Philip Attaway

I still do not want an ugly eye sore at the end of my garden. I already have an ugly Subaru at the front to deal with.

carl

Now that's a different matter...
Is it actually a proper antenna, or just a little "fill-in" one? If the latter, get them to take down one of the lamp-posts in your street and replace it with one that's got the antenna in it. We have quite a few of those sort around our way.

Leslie

Haha Brendan,

We were assured that that the weapon did not radiate at all externally until the implosive charges fired and turned it into a "bucket of sunshine". By that time it did not really matter any more!

Ask PSL, he tells us he is an expert on it

Les

Lee247

I agree with you phil, I would hate it at the bottom of my garden, and I bet most of the council would hate it at the bottom of theirs. They are an eyesore.