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Underground > Conversation >

Vodafone want to put a mobile phone mast on our roof

12:56 / 10.12.02

Well, two in fact. I have a vague feeling that this is A Very Bad Thing, but need to know more before I trash the flat, lay mines on the roof and move into a F*CKING CAVE ON A REMOTE ISLAND IN THE NORTH AT-F*CKING-LANTIC and devote the rest of my life to destroying everyone who ever worked at a high level in the business. I'd be most grateful for any info, links etc that anyone can provide on the subject of:

- mobile phone masts
- low level microwave radiation (real or potential health risk, eg: will the chance of my son developing leukemia increase every time some local bozo texts their ming-mong pal in the next f*cking classroom?)
- my rights as a tenant on this matter
- organisations
- historical precedents

Anything, basically. I've found one interesting site already, devoted to a group called FADER. But the more I know, the better.

Some details, which may or may not be relevant:
We live in a block of 12 flats, 4 storeys. 9 currently occupied, 3 by people with children under 3 yrs old. Vodaphone want to put 2 masts on the roof plus a base-station in the grounds of the flat.

Tryphena Absent

14:15 / 10.12.02

Who owns the flats? Whoever it is they need to contest this because no amount of talk about ill children is going to stop this happening. They tried to put a mast down my road (in Hertfordshire) and got stuck in a massive legal battle because it wasn't common land (plus the electrician down the road told them if they put anything there it was coming down again). There's no certain proof that mast's damage anyone's health so legally that argument doesn't usually work.

15:06 / 10.12.02

Just wondering where do you live? If it's in the UK you should have got notified by your local council and given the opportunity to say 'WOAH!'. You can write objections to your local council but working in Westminster Planning Department I can say your objection may be treated with long tongs. Everyone in my section twitches when mobile masts objections are mentioned because we get so many of them.

From what I gather one tack that you can take is that the masts will damage the character of the area if they are visible from nearby. Also check out with the council if there are any conservation areas or similar nearby, you can usually get an argument going that it will damage the character of such an area to have a mobile mast there.

You should also enlist your local resident's association as they may be a bunch of tweed wearing pensioners but your local council runs in terror from them, or at least hopes they would go away and stop bothering them. They should be grizzled veterans of such battles and should be able to give you some local intelligence. The planning department should be able to tell you who they are for your area.

Oh and try your local paper, they're usually up for doing stories on this sort of thing as it fills pages.

15:25 / 10.12.02

Excellent and useful responses, thanks guys! Anyone for any more?

invisible al>

I'm in Portsmouth. The proposal for planning permission hasn't gone to the council yet, but Vodafone have - to their credit - a policy of notifying those affected 10 days in advance of the proposal going in. The letter includes a list of alternative sites in the area and reasons why they (Vodafone) rejected them as unsuitable. I'll scan it in tonight, in case anyone's interested.

19:55 / 10.12.02

Tell your local paper.

Hopefully it'll be a slow news week so you'll get lots of support. You know how small papers love a good cause to rally round and blow out of all proportion.

"Won't someboy please think of the children?!"