School to fight fresh phone mast plan
Last updated at 17:34, Wednesday, 08 July 2009
HENSINGHAM Primary School has vowed to fight “tooth and nail” a decision to erect a mobile phone mast near its grounds.
Headteacher Robin Lacey says the school community will “kick up as much stink as we can” in a bid to overturn a controversial decision that will see a 12½-metre O2 mast sited only 80 metres from the school.
“We will write to O2 to express our concerns and dismay at these plans and to ask them to reconsider,” said Mr Lacey. “Parents are also organising a petition and our chair of governors, Fiona McMinn, is drafting a letter to Copeland Borough Council and The Whitehaven News. We are determined not to let this happen.”
Mr Lacey’s objections are based on a guidance he received from Cumbria County Council’s health and safety department which recommended that masts should be more than 250m away from school premises.
“This advice was given in 2005 following the Stewart Report, which concluded that children absorb more radio frequency than adults,” he said.
“I’m not against a phone mast per se, it just needs to be further away from the school.”
Copeland councillors “reluctantly” gave planning permission for the mast, which will be located on Richmond Hill Road, at the end of June. They could not turn down the application on safety grounds because the applicants have all the necessary technical approval in place.
“We had to consider the application on planning grounds only – so there was nothing we could do about it,” said Hensingham councillor Geoff Garrity. “I said in the meeting that there were other better places for the mast to go – like Copeland Athletics Stadium, who I’m told would’ve been happy to have it – so I don’t think it needs to go near the school.”
Before the plans were approved, residents arranged a petition which stated that the mast is excessive in height, would be an eyesore and devalue nearby property, and would be a focal point for children to gather and play around. They also raised safety concerns.
Permission has previously been refused for a 15m high mast on Hensingham Main Street due to its visual impact. O2 considered a number of other locations, including the Romar Workwear site, G&M Supplies and the fire station, before identifying Richmond Hill Road.
Mr Lacey is also unhappy that the school was not notified about the mast plans by Copeland Borough Council.
“The first I knew was when I read it on the front page of The Whitehaven News (June 25),” he said.
“I would have expected Copeland to notify us as we had objected against the previous plans (in 2007 and 2008). We are therefore writing a letter of complaint to them.”
A Copeland spokesman said that the authority only notifies the properties that are directly adjacent to the proposed site, which Hensingham School is not.
O2 declined to comment.
First published at 15:43, Wednesday, 08 July 2009
Published by http://www.whitehaven-news.co.uk
obviously CHARLIE'S comment is rediculous,this is a school for 3 year olds up to eleven so no they do not go around with phones clamped to their ears,if you have kids why don't you request to have it by their school,oh silly me you probably don't even live in whitehaven.
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I am really sorry that your article âSchool to fight fresh phone mast planâ had the comment that o2 declined to comment. I have been talking to local people for the past three weeks regarding this mast and the application. If your reporter that wrote the story was interested in comments from O2 all they had to do was to phone me on 07850732132 and I would have commented on the issue. We will always comment on stories in the press regarding our roll out of the Network and would have so this time.
Posted by James Stevenson on 10 July 2009 at 07:06