Press Exposure
Newark Advertiser
Support for mast appeal
By Andrew Miller 27/06/2008
RIGHT: The MP for Newark, Mr Patrick Mercer, right, signs the mast petition with Mr Bruce Laughton, a member of Nottinghamshire County Council.
More than 200 people signed a petition calling for a mobile telephone mast in Southwell to be moved.
The No Masts In Southwell action group had a stall in the town to raise awareness of their campaign on Saturday morning.
They were joined by the MP for Newark, Mr Patrick Mercer, and Mr Bruce Laughton, the Southwell member of Nottinghamshire County Council.
The group wants telecommunications company O2 to move a mast it erected in September at the Telephone Exchange on The Ropewalk, Southwell.
The 15-metre mast is around 150 metres from Lowe’s Wong infants’ and junior schools.
One of the campaigners, Mrs Catherine Harriss, said the event had allowed them to explain their concerns and why they were against the mast’s location.
She said: “It is a great opportunity to launch a new campaign. We are looking for O2 to move the mast to a mutually agreeable area.”
The group feels the community was not properly consulted over the siting of the mast and is concerned no research has taken place into the long-term effects that emissions from masts have on health.
Mr Mercer said he understood the mast had to be put somewhere, but it was in the wrong place.
He said O2 had been arrogant and thoughtless in the way it had dealt with the community.
“The more discourteous they are to us, the more determined we will become,” he said.
“We actually live in a democracy. If the majority of the people raise their voices in protest, we will resist them.”
No Masts In Southwell’s petition is still available for people to sign in schools and businesses including the Co-op, Yummy Mummy’s Coffee Shop and the post office.
An online petition can also be downloaded at www.nomastsin southwell.co.uk
Mr Mercer will present the petition to Parliament.
Mr Laughton said the planning process needed to change so telecommunication companies did not get preferential treatment when submitting an application for a new mast.
He said: “The people of Southwell have not had a chance to say where they think the mast should go or to fight the application in the first place.”
The chairman of the town council’s planning committee, Mr Brendan Haigh, also signed the petition.
The town council objected to the mast when the application was submitted and had serious reservations on health grounds.
O2 said it followed the proper planning procedures and there is no evidence that emissions from masts have an adverse affect on people’s health.
Newark Advertiser January 25th
Nottingham Evening Post 5th December 2007
PHONE MAST FEARS: PUPILS TAKEN OUT OF SCHOOLS
19 readers have commented on this story
05 December 2007
Children are being taken out of schools by parents worried about nearby mobile phone masts.
Protests across Notts are growing as parents demand the masts be built further from schools.
But phone companies claim the World Health Organisation says there is no evidence of a health risk.
Ten pupils have been removed from Orston Primary School since a mast was put up 100 metres away.
Parent Rob Macklam said he had no choice but to move six-year-old daughter Evie Macklam from the school.
"We didn't want to consider how our daughter could suffer years down the line because we hadn't acted by changing schools," he said.
A Compton Acres nursery says it might have to close if a planned mast is erected nearby, and campaigners in Southwell, who opposed a mast next to Lowes Wong school, are demanding answers to their health fears.
Zenon Sienkiewicz, principal scientific officer at the Health Protection Agency, said: "A change of school has a greater effect on a child's education than a signal from a mobile mast.
"While there's still uncertainty, a cautionary approach is the way forward."
Your Views
I congratulate these parents for their totally responsible attitude, our children are precious. I wish more parents would research the issue of technologies using pulsed microwave radiation and other things. These technologies can have beneficial or harmful effects and are being tested on the general public now. Everything has an up side and a down side. Many people I have got to know over the past three or four years are electrosensitive, as I am, yet we are dismissively told that this condition is "all in the mind" and we need psychological therapy! As we all become unwell or ill around some or all of these technologies and we recover if we can minimise our exposure to it, we know with a certainty that this prognosis is incorrect. If the authorities can get this so very wrong for whatever reason, then there is much else that they do not understand or will not admit to. I urge everyone to research and decide for themselves.
Sandi, Chichester
Thanks Dan Davies for your enlightened comment "Mobile phone masts are harmless, i hope anyone who takes their child out of school will get the necessary punishment for being so ridiculous." Dare I suggest you actually look at the independent research on this issue and then reconsider whether these parent are being ridiculous and should be punished?
Simon Densley, London
I am a member of the EMF Discussion Group which is chaired by Sir William Stewart, Chairman for the Health Protection Agency for the UK. I am a trustee for the EM Radiation Research Trust in the UK www.radiationresearch.org . Founder of campaign group SCRAM (seriously concerned residents against masts) www.scram.uk.com I have no doubt in my mind that I am a victim to long term exposure to radiation from a phone mast. Six years ago I developed breast cancer at the age of 38 with no history of breast cancer in my family. I am now six years clear of this terrible disease and it had an enormous impact on my life and the lives of my family. It has been a long hard battle not only against breast cancer, but also against the insensitive siting of the T-Mobile phone mast which was 100 metres from my home. I now live in a cancer cluster which is one of many we have since discovered around phone masts after long term exposure. Cancer clusters around phone masts are not unique to the UK. I presented a powerpoint presentation to the Health Protection Agency which detailed published research on health problems related to phone masts, you can download a copy of this paper and presentation from www.radiationresearch.org I don't understand why Zenon Sienkiewicz, of the Health Protection Agency, can say there is no research available when he was present at this meeting. Can he please produce research demonstrating safety? I would like to draw your attention BioInititive report go to the following website link: http://www.bioinitiative.org The Bioinitiative report concludes the existing standards for public safety are inadequate to protect public health. After reviewing over 2000 research publications scientists, researchers and public health policy professionals report serious scientific concerns about current limits regulating how much EMF is allowable from power lines, cell phones, and many other sources of EMF exposure in daily life. Also Europe?s top environmental watchdog the EU's European Environment Agency (EEA) is calling for immediate action to reduce exposure to radiation from Wi-Fi, mobile phones and their masts. It suggests that the delay could lead to a health crisis similar to those caused by asbestos, smoking and lead in petrol. Read the following paragraph by Dr Robert O. Becker, M.D. he was twice nominated for the Nobel Prize for his research into EMF?s. ?I have no doubt in my mind that at the present time, the greatest polluting element in the earth?s environment is the proliferation of electromagnetic fields. I consider that to be far greater on a global scale, than warming, and the increase in chemical elements in the environment. Kind Regards, Eileen O'Connor Radiation Research Trustee http://www.radiationresearch.org Eileen O'Connor, West Midlands
Eileen O'Connor, West Midlands
Wrong Neil. To compare the radiation emitted from TVs and Radios to that from phone masts, which bombard the nation 24/7 shows a complete lack of understanding of this technology. The microwave comparison is however better. However you forget a couple of simple facts. The microwave oven is encased by metal. With a phone masts we are all in effect inside the microwave oven. Indeed how many people have their microwave ovens switched on 24/7! To claim that the frequencies used for modern digital applications are the same as the ones used for traditional terrestrial radio and TV is wrong. Traditional Radio and TV use a lower part of the spectrum and unmodulated continuous waves, whereas phone masts, mobile phones, DECT and Wi-Fi use frequencies of the microwave spectrum which are amplitude modulated. To use an analogy, I suggest you carry out a short experiment, starting with resting a jack-hammer (switched off, of course) on your foot. No problems. Now start the jack-hammer up, still resting on that foot. By the laws of physics it can't be any heavier when running than when switched off - so there's no risk. That's the difference between radio and TV signals and phone mast/mobile telecomms signals, including WiFi - except that the jack-hammer is aimed at every cell in the body, notably at brain cells. Many peer reviewed and published studies have found specific effects, including the promotion of cancer, from the latter type of radiation at levels below the threshold of body heating and below the exposure threshold set by the current guidelines.
JE, Bristol
I'm afraid the World Health Organisation are not clever at all and have been accused of industry corruption of their supposedly unbiased stance. The World Health Organisation?s tacit approval of this microwave technology is no surprise to phone mast campaigners. The WHO Radiation Committee,who comment on such matters consists of who? 8 representatives from the phone industry! The Head of this ?independent? Committee, Mike Repacholi, recently resigned under a cloud when it was revealed that he was pocketing $150,000 a year for ?expenses? from guess who? The mobile phone operators! Oh and by the way, a recent Lancet report condemned the WHO's use of "independant" experts because of their industry bias.
JE, Bristol
Dear Neil at West Bridgford, I am worried that the effects of mobile phones has taken its effect already. Strange that you can't spell the town where you live.....
Jamie , Nottingham
This debate is not about "do we need masts", of course we all expect perfect coverage everywhere we go. This is about the mobile companies siting them away from schools and nurseries. In Orston, we attempted many times to work with T-mobile to move the mast away from the school, they refused to seriously consider anywhere else.
Bob , Orston
Great to see an excellent debate on such a sensitive subject. Its obvious that some people, who have made comments in favour of mobile phone masts, do not understand parenthood or have grasped the actual facts that are available. Having researched the facts myself, I am no longer using a mobile phone on a regular basis. I think we should challange companies who are siting mobile phone masts close to schools and homes when government and industry research DOES highlight that further reseach into the effects on children is needed. The research also highlights that there are gaps in knowledge. Many phone companies for years have been able to provide good coverage from remote locations. Until we know what is and isnt safe, just keep the masts away from schools. Seems like common sense to me. If you want to read more for yourself, why not look at http://www.mthr.org.uk/ and http://www.bioinitiative.org/
John Smithers, Nottingham
John Smithers. Next time you break down, 200 miles from home, no motorway phones, its raining and you are helpless - remember you could have rang the aa or rac and got home ok. The websites are not at all factual, there has been more research in to mobile tranmissions than anything else, including cancer and they all come back as being safe. I have children and let them have a phone, can I suggest you fit out your room with clingfilm, remove any TV's and Microwaves and consider that you are using a PC. Lets hope it is not CRT otherwise you might fry. Please will people understand that it is safe? This is no joke, the worst transmissions are for TV and overhead power cables and these are still very safe. Getting bored now of this debate, it is so old fashioned
neil, west bridgeford
The WHO may be clever people Jonny, but until recently they were headed by a guy called Mike Repacholi who has publically admitted that their research was ban rolled by the mobile phone industry. This is all driven by financial interests. A group of independent scientists have published the BioIntiative report. Easy to get hold of if you Google it. Read that and tell me if these parents are pathetic. There is nothing pathetic about protecting your children.
CB, York
The Mobile Telecommunications Health Research Programme (MTHR), commissioned by the UK government published its findings in September 2007. In relation to base stations (mobile phone masts) it stated:- ?Measurement of emissions from mobile base stations provide some confidence that exposures to members of the public are low, but do not in themselves reveal whether there are any adverse health consequences to those low exposures." Read any of the key scientific health research reports and decide for yourself. Our feeling having undertaken a lot of research is that doubt in relation to children and the long term effects of exposure to mobile phone masts, still exists.
The No Masts in Southwell Community campaign group, Southwell
Mobile phone masts are harmless, i hope anyone who takes their child out of school will get the necessary punishment for being so ridiculous.
Dan Davies, Southwell
Cheers for that Zoe, make sure you don't let your kiddies have a mobile phone - you never know what could happen! Its incredible to see that all of Nottingham Trent University's students at their Brackenhurst campus are in good health - and thats with a phone mast on their doorstep - quite literally.
Jonny, Southwell
Every media outlet now sells itself as "Watch the this or you might die" - "Read this to stop then end of the world" and other such rubbish. We're sleepwalking into a self-aware yiddish A.I.
Rohit, Nottingham
These same parents will compalin if they or their kids can't get a mobile signal in and around the area of their school.
Tim Kelly, East Leake
The media is to blame for this paranoia about mobile phone masts. Whenever reporters can't be bothered to do any real work they label something as 'dangerous' and write a poorly researched piece to fill a few column inches. Earlier ths week cooked food was labelled by the Sun as being dangerous. Should save me a few bob on the housekeeping, that one.
steve, bulwell
Jonny - I bet you don't have kids!
zoe, Nottm
It's pathetic. The same situation occured in Southwell recently. I think the World Health Organisation are clever enough to know.
Jonny, Southwell
Nottingham Evening Post 1st November 2007
Parents say they will keep fighting to remove a mobile phone mast from outside a school.
Notts County Council is tomorrow set to throw out a 1,600-name petition against the mast close to Lowe's Wong Junior and Infant Schools.
Portfolio holder for children's services Coun Joyce Bosnjak said the mast meets national safety guidelines and is not the responsibility of the county council. She said the decision lay with Newark and Sherwood District Council, which has approved permission for the mast 120 metres from the school.
Alison Jacobson, a member of No Masts in Southwell, who has two children at Lowe's Wong, said: "The county council do have a duty of care which it seems they are not undertaking."
The mast in the Ropewalk, is used by communications company O2. It says the equipment operates within Government guidelines.
Earlier this year the campaign group won a victory when T-Mobile pulled out of a decision to place its antenna on the mast. Now parents say they will keep fighting until O2 follows suit, and they have the backing of Newark MP Patrick Mercer and county councillor Bruce Laughton.
Southwell Advertiser Friday 5th October 2007
Call goes out to hang up on 02
By ANDREW MILLER
Mobile phone users are being urged to boycott O2 after it went ahead with the installation of a 15-metre mast in Southwell.
Campaigners have asked people with O2 contracts to switch to other companies.
They want residents to put posters in their windows and write letters to Newark and Sherwood District Council planning department complaining about the visual impact of the mast on the surrounding conservation area.
The mast went up on Friday at the Telephone Exchange, The Ropewalk.
Campaigners claim their complaints about O2’s consultation process were not dealt with before the mast was erected.
A member of the No Masts in Southwell action group, Mrs Catherine Harriss, said O2 did not properly consult with the community.
She has cancelled her 02 contract and is encouraging others to do the same.
Mrs Janet Bacon (42) of The Burgage, Southwell, has changed her O2 pay-as-you-go phone to Vodafone.
“I felt that even though I didn’t spend an awful lot of money I didn’t want O2 to have it,” she said.
“With all the problems they have caused it is quite nice to look at my phone and see that it doesn’t say O2.
“It may be just a small thing but if lots of people did it, that would send out a message.”
Mrs Bacon is worried about the potential health risks related to mobile phone masts.
Her children, Olivia (9) and George (7) attend Lowe’s Wong Junior School, 120 metres from the mast site.
“It is awful. We are now having to live with it even though we didn’t want it,” she said.
Protest posters can be downloaded from the group’s website,
www.nomastsinsouthwell.co.uk
As well as the posters for window display, the action group is having car stickers made.
Action group member Mrs Alison Jacobson said the mast was visually intrusive and ugly.
The group is asking the district council to withdraw O2’s prior planning approval for the mast.
It has received a letter from the district head of planning, Mr Mike Evans, in response to the complaint about the lack of community consultation by O2.
In it Mr Evans agrees that 02’s consultation was below recommended best practice. He said they had not allowed the community to express their views in full or engage with O2 in terms of the technical details or siting of the mast.
Mr Evans said, however, that current planning legislation meant the council had no powers to ask a developer to carry out further consultation.
He said effective consultations relied on the goodwill of the developer.
The council has written to O2 and other companies with masts in the district advising them that full consultation with local communities, in accordance with the best practice guidance, should be undertaken.
O2 maintains that its consultation was in line with the guidelines.
A spokesman said: “We wrote to the district council prior to the application going in and explained to them the amount of consultation that we would be doing in line with the code of best practice.
“We said at that time if they required any further consultation carried out or any further consultees that we needed to write to then would they let us know. We never heard from them.”
As well as writing to the district council, O2 also informed the town council about the mast application, along with all the houses that would have a view of the mast and the Lowe’s Wong schools.
The spokesman said all mobile phone operators required a network of masts.
The action group is investigating whether it can call for a judicial review of O2’s application in the High Court.
Mrs Jacobson said the group was speaking to other mast campaigners who had experience of taking legal action over mast applications.
An action group in Gatley, near Stockport in Greater Manchester, won a hearing in the High Court over a mast application by One2One. The company settled the matter out of court by agreeing not to build the mast.
Although the Southwell mast is up it will not go live until BT, who own the site, remove their 12-metre monopole and add a dish to the O2 mast.
The O2 spokesman said that could take another few weeks.
Southwell Advertiser Friday 28th September
Protesters have vowed to continue their fight against phone masts in residential areas as a 15-metre mast was due to go up in Southwell.
O2 was going ahead with the installation yesterday after a week of preparatory work on the base unit.
Mrs Michelle Slack, who lives less than 100 metres from the mast said she was worried about the possible long term effects it would have on her family.
Mrs Slack (44) of Queen Street, is a governor of Lowe’s Wong Junior School, where her daughter, Naomi (10) is a pupil. Her son, Sam (12) is a pupil at the Minster School.
“O2 aren’t thinking about anybody else,” she said.
“Whether it is just convenience to put it there because that is where the Telephone Exchange is I don’t know.
“It is diabolical that they haven’t taken anyone else into account. There are plenty of other places it could go.”
Mrs Slack said her children always played outside their home when they could but the effect of the mast on them would be constant.
“We all use mobile phones, everybody needs one, but they have put it smack bang in the middle of a busy community and a young community,” she said.
“We are disgusted with O2 and the way they have carried this out.
“We will carry on and try to fight it. This sort of thing is happening everywhere, not just in Southwell.”
The No Masts in Southwell action group has taken its campaign into the national arena in an attempt to change the planning laws concerning telecommunications applications.
Masts up to 15-metres high do not need formal planning consent. O2 received the go-ahead for the new 15-metre mast in April.
ABOVE: Mrs Michelle Slack in The Ropewalk with fellow anti-mast campaigners Mrs Catherine Harriss and Mr Fraser McNish. The mast site is behind the houses
Southwell Advertiser Friday 21st September
Campaigners were outraged to discover work had started on the installation of a new, bigger mobile phone mast before their complaints had been dealt with.
On Wednesday a tree was dug up next to the existing 12-metre mast at the Telephone Exchange, The Ropewalk, Southwell. A large hole has been excavated in preparation for the mast’s base unit.
The No Masts In Southwell group has written to O2, who have planning consent for a 15-metre mast, complaining that the consultation process they carried out was inadequate.
Group member Mrs Catherine Harris said they were livid that O2 had started work.
The group is attempting to change the planning laws concerning telecommunications applications.
At a meeting of Southwell Town Council on Wednesday, Mr Brendan Haigh accused O2 of being arrogant.
“It is a kick in the teeth for local residents that O2 have decided to go ahead with the building of the mast,” he said.
An O2 spokesman said: “All the consultation was carried out in line with the code of best practice.
“We have planning consent for this mast and we are trying to make a considerable investment in Southwell to ensure the residents have a good telecommunication service.”
Southwell Advertiser Friday 15th September
Southwell Advertiser Friday 8th September
Southwell Advertiser Friday 30th August
An action group is moving its campaign against a bigger phone mast into the national spotlight in an attempt to change the planning laws.
No Masts In Southwell wants a review of planning procedures for telecommunications applications after O2 was given permission to erect a mast despite widespread local objection.
The group plans to join forces with other communities around the country that are fighting against mobile phone masts.
National Grid Wireless, which owns the Telephone Exchange on The Ropewalk where the mast is planned, this week told the action group it was going to proceed with the replacement of a 12-metre mast with a 15-metre one that will have a mobile phone antenna attached.
The site is in a residential area and close to the Lowe’s Wong infants and junior schools.
A governor of the junior school and member of the action group, Mrs Awen Little, said: “O2 and National Grid Wireless do not appear to be interested in the concerns of our community or in finding a mutually acceptable site for the mast.
“In order to effect real change we are moving our campaign into the national arena.”
Group member Mrs Alison Jacobson said communities around the country, including others in Newark and Sherwood, were involved in similar campaigns.
The group intends to write to government ministers, opposition spokesmen and MPs to highlight concerns about O2’s community consultation.
Mrs Jacobson said the group felt guidelines in the telecommunication planning regulations calling for effective and meaningful community consultation had not been followed by either O2 or Newark and Sherwood District Council.
The group wants planning laws changed to ensure there is proper consultation before a mast application is approved.
The agents for National Grid Wireless, Ian Hewitt Associates, submitted the application for the bigger mast and complied with the essential consultation necessary under present planning regulations.
They wrote to town and district council representatives for Southwell, the governing bodies of the schools and a planning notice was put up near the site.
Further optional consultation can be carried out and the agents sent a consultation letter to 26 homes and businesses on The Ropewalk, Private Road, Kirklington Road and Leeway Road.
Further optional consultation could have included an informal drop-in session to provide information about the mast.
The action group wants the district council to refer its complaint to the local government ombudsman and is waiting for a response to its request.
If it is turned down, they plan to go to the telecommunications ombudsman for an independent review.
Mrs Jacobson said contacting 26 homes and businesses in a community of nearly 6,000 people was woefully inadequate.
The group wants Southwell residents to continue to support its campaign by writing to local representatives, displaying posters and changing their mobile phone contract if they are with O2.
Mrs Dawn Clements (37) of Fern Close, Southwell, has supported the campaign since it started. She lives two streets from the mast site.
Mrs Clements is concerned about the potential effect it will have on her health and that of her children, Aimee (11) and Jack (9) and two foster children in her care.
She had a brain tumour removed in October last year
“I don’t know what effect the mast could have on me and my children,” she said.
“They are putting the mast up against fierce opposition. The majority of people in Southwell don’t want it so near the school and the residential area, but it’s as if they are not bothered about what we want.”
Mrs Clements said while Jack went to primary school in Nottingham and Aimee was about to start at the Minster School, Southwell she was concerned for pupils at the Lowe’s Wong schools.
“They will get no respite from it,” she said. “We have no idea what the long-term effects could be.”
Mrs Clements and her husband, Mr Lee Clements (36) have considered moving because of the mast.
“But we really like Southwell and if we move then O2 have won so we would rather stay and fight,” she said.
Southwell Advertiser Friday 24 August
Southwell Advertiser Friday 17 August
Southwell Advertiser Friday 10 August
A decision is expected today about the future of a controversial mast in Southwell.
O2 has permission to replace a 12-metre telephone mast at the Telephone Exchange, The Ropewalk, with a 15-metre mast.
It has delayed making a decision about the mast four times after first saying it would reconsider plans erect the taller mast.
After a meeting with Newark’s MP, Mr Patrick Mercer, O2 said it would have a rethink over the site of the mast and give its decision on July 23.
But it then delayed making the decision, blaming staff holidays.
Mr Mercer told O2 that the people of Southwell did not want the mast and he would involve ministers and government at the highest possible level to prevent them from putting it up.
Now, more than three weeks later, O2 says it is finally ready to make a decision.
Residents have campaigned against the mast which would be 120 metres from Lowe’s Wong infants and junior schools and near to homes, businesses and Southwell Medical Centre.
They formed the campaign group No Masts in Southwell, encouraging people in the town to write to O2 expressing their concerns about the site of the mast.
They also collected signatures from more than 1,300 people in the town and sent a letter to the Prime Minister, Mr Gordon Brown, expressing their concerns.
Members of the action group said if O2 did decide to go ahead with plans for the mast, they would continue to campaign until the mast was resited.
Mrs Catherine Harriss, a member of the action group, said: “We are hoping O2 will elect to strike a balance between commercial gain and social responsibility towards our community. This can be achieved if they resite the mast in a more appropriate location.
“If, however, O2 decide to go ahead with the mast, in the face of significant local opposition, then we will have no choice but to begin a new and sustained campaign to have the mast taken down.”
O2 said it was seriously considering plans to resite the mast.
A spokesperson for O2 said: “A decision about the mast will definitely be made at noon.
“Because the mast is such a controversial issue we have senior managers reviewing the case and they will make the final decision.”
Southwell Advertiser Friday 3 August
A decision on the site of a controversial phone mast has been delayed again.
O2 has permission to replace a 12-metre phone mast at the Telephone Exchange, Ropewalk Southwell, with a 15-metre mast.
The site is near homes and businesses and 120 metres from Lowe’s Wong infants and junior schools.
Residents are campaigning against the bigger mast.
The Southwell MP, Mr Patrick Mercer, met representatives from O2 and told the firm to find another site for the mast.
The campaign group, No Masts in Southwell, and Nottinghamshire county councillor Mr Bruce Laughton also attended.
After the meeting O2 agreed to look at alternative sites.
The company said it would make a decision on July 23 then said it would be the 27th. It then said it was unable to make a decision for a further week when staff returned from leave.
A spokesman for O2 said this week that the decision would now not be made until Wednesday at the earliest because staff were still on leave.
Mr Laughton, who opposes the mast, said he wasn’t too disappointed by the delay.
“The longer they delay the decision the worse it is for the community but at least O2 are thinking about resiting the phone mast and that’s the most important thing,” he said.
Southwell Advertiser Friday 27 July
Southwell’s MP says he will demand government intervention if a phone company persists with plans to increase the size of a mast near two schools in the town.
Mr Patrick Mercer has told O2 to find another site.
02 has permission to replace a 12-metre mast with a 15-metre one with three mobile phone antennas at the Telephone Exchange on Ropewalk, Southwell.
The mast would be 120 metres from Lowe’s Wong infants’ and junior schools and close to homes and businesses.
Mr Mercer met representatives from O2 and National Grid Wireless, who lease the site at the Telephone Exchange, on Friday to ask them to look at alternative sites.
A Nottinghamshire county councillor, Mr Bruce Laughton, and representatives from the action group, No Masts In Southwell, were also there.
After the meeting O2 said it would consider alternative sites and announce its decision on Tuesday.
There was no announcement and, blaming holiday leave, the company said it would be made a week today.
Mr Mercer said if O2 ignored his request to find an alternative site, he would involve ministers and government at the highest level.
“My constituents do not want this mast. They want it resiting so we’re not having it,” he said.
More than 1,300 people have signed a petition against the phone mast. Campaigners believe that represents a third of residents in the town.
Mr Laughton said: “The MP has added his weight to the fight to stop big companies from ignoring the views of locals.
“He is behind his constituents 100% and recognises that the people of Southwell do not want this mast in this position.
“It’s now up to O2 to do the decent thing and find another site.”
A spokesman for No Masts In Southwell, Rachel Thackray, said: “Whatever O2 decide we will continue to fight until the mast is sited somewhere else.
“We want to encourage people to write to O2 to complain about the mast.
“We want them to continue to receive letters from people so they know we really do not want this mast here.”
Fellow campaigner Mrs Catherine Harriss is also a parent governor of Lowe’s Wong Junior School.
“We are frustrated that O2 has not yet been able to give us the response we want — to site this mast away from schools and homes,” she said.
“We are calling on O2 to act now, to protect our children’s health and to listen to our community.”
A spokesman for O2 said: “I can confirm that O2 are currently considering their position on the location of the phone mast in Southwell.
“No work will take place until a decision is made.”
BBC Radio Nottingham Live radio interview about the proposed mast and the latest electro-magnetic sensitivity reports Thursday 26 July:
Nottingham Evening Post Tuesday 17 July
BBC Radio Nottingham Saturday 14th July
Southwell Advertiser (front page) Friday 13 July
Nottingham Evening Post Friday 13 July
The Chad Newspaper Thursday 12 July
Southwell Advertiser: 6th July 2007 Front Page
BBC East Midlands Today 4th July 2007: news bulletins & online.
BBC Radio Nottingham 3rd July 2007: Broadcast on news bulletins
Chad Newspaper 27th June 2007
BBC East Midlands Today 25th June 2007
Residents meet mobile mast firm Campaigners fighting proposals for a new mobile phone mast in Nottinghamshire are to meet the company behind the development.
About 1,000 signatures have been collected from people objecting to plans to erect a mast close to schools in Southwell.
Many parents have said they were concerned about potential health risks.
National Grid Wireless insisted there was no threat to health but has agreed to meet with worried residents.
Some people have claimed the emissions from mobile phone masts can cause depression, behavioural problems and even cancer.
But mainstream scientific opinion has not found a link between the masts and any health problems.
However, National Grid Wireless said it was happy to discuss the issues with those who had concerns.
The Newark Advertiser 22nd June 2007
Two petitions opposing plans for a bigger mobile phone mast near two Southwell schools have been signed by more than 1,300 people.
One from a protest group, No Mast In Southwell, was put in town shops to allow people to register their opposition to proposals for a replacement mast on The Ropewalk.
The site is 120 metres from Lowe’s Wong infants’ and junior schools.
The petition was signed by 1,088 people.
Mrs Catherine Harriss, a parent governor at the junior school, on Tuesday handed it to Southwell Town Council’s leader, Mr Peter Harris, and chairman, Mrs Beryl Prentice, watched by a crowd of parents and pupils from the Lowe’s Wong schools.
Parents held a banner saying: “1,000+ Say No To Mast.”
The petition was later presented to Newark and Sherwood District Council.
Mrs Prentice said: “We are saying that as long as there is any doubt about the safety of the mast then we don’t think it’s appropriate to have it in the centre of a town.”
The other petition, signed by 280 staff and parents at the schools, was organised by parent Rachel Thackray of King Street whose daughter Eleanor (6) goes to the infants’ school.
It was also presented to the district council on Tuesday.
Rachel Thackray believes the combined total of signatures represent the views of a third of all householders in Southwell.
“We are appealing to the good nature of the phone company to look at alternative locations for the mast,” she said.
Mrs Michelle Slack (44) and her family live on Queen Street, 100 metres from the mast site.
“We will be exposed to the mast 24/7,” she said. “It’s not just the school, it’s the public area around it too. Why should we put up with it?”
O2 wants to replace a 12-metre monopole within the Southwell Telephone Exchange on The Ropewalk with a mast three metres taller.
A BT dish with a 1ft-diameter which stands on the current pole would be repositioned on top of the higher mast.
Three mobile phone antennae would also be on top of the mast.
Masts up to 15 metres high — around 50ft — do not need formal planning permission.
Council planners can only object to the siting and appearance of those masts.
Objections can be made in the case of The Ropewalk mast because it is in a conservation area.
The application for the higher mast has been submitted to the district council by National Grid Wireless, the company which operates the telephone exchange, on behalf of O2.
It will have to submit confirmation that the mast emits radiation within government guidelines.
It says the taller mast is needed because of a gap in network coverage in the Southwell area.
Alternative sites at the Co-op supermarket on The Ropewalk, Southwell Leisure Centre, the Church Street carpark and the Norwood Park estate were dismissed as inappropriate.
The district councillor for Southwell North, Mr Brendan Haigh, said the main concern was a possible risk to the health of pupils at the Lowe’s Wong schools.
“There is conflicting evidence as to the dangers these masts cause but as long as there is any doubt they should not be put anywhere near schools or heavily populated areas,” he said. “There is real anxiety.”
The district councillor for Southwell West, Mr Peter Harris, said: “It is incumbent on politicians and the industry to address these concerns. Until that time they will receive significant local opposition.
“These signatories represent a significant number of residents in the area.”
The council’s chief executive, Mr Andrew Muter, said the petitions would be considered as part of the planning application decision.
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BBC Radio Nottingham 19th June 2007
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BBC East Midlands Today 19th June 2007
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Nottingham Evening Post 19th June 2007
Click here to see art in the Evening Post Website
More than 1,000 parents have signed a petition protesting against a mobile phone mast being put up 120 metres from a primary school site in Southwell.
Staff at Lowe's Wong junior and infants' schools have also objected to the mast, but it does not look as if Newark and Sherwood District Council will oppose it.
The 15m pole, for both 02 and T-Mobile signals, will be at the Telephone Exchange, in the Ropewalk.
Infants' school head Vanessa Platt said: "We have around 1,000 names on our petition and we have only been collecting them for a week.
"Many parents have written to the planning consultants putting the application in, to the council and to their MP. Some parents have even set up a website ( www.nomastsinsouthwell.co.uk)."
The two schools have around 700 pupils between them and
Mrs Platt said: "There is a wealth of evidence showing there is a risk and we feel until it is proven to be totally safe these things shouldn't be placed anywhere near to children."
Rachel Thackery is a member of No Masts in Southwell, which aims to raise awareness of the proposal.
She said the group is meeting planning consultants behind the proposal on Monday.
She said: "The campaign website www.nomastsinsouthwell.co.uk has received more than 2,800 hits - 1,268 of these have been unique visits and it receives about 100 new visitors each day.
"You can have your say, download template letters of objection or read about the health risks associated."
A spokeswoman from T-Mobile said the use of mobiles in the UK had grown fast, with some 60 million now in use.
She explained that without a network of base stations, phones did not work.
"T-Mobile understands there sometimes can be concerns when locating base stations in communities," she said.
"Based on over 40 years of research, we are confident that base stations, operating within strict national and international guidelines, do not present a health risk to any member of the public."
Mrs Platt urged anyone who wants to support the campaign to write to the planning consultants or the local authority.
For details of the campaign and addresses call the school on 01636 812207.
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The Bramley Newspaper 16th June 2007
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The Newark Advertiser 15th June 2007 - Picture and cutting to follow shortly
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BBC Nottingham Radio - Breakfast show 11th June 2007
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nottingham/local_radio/
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BBC East Midlands Today Saturday 9th June 2007
http://www.bbc.co.uk/eastmidlandstoday/
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The Newark Advertiser 8th June 2007
Phone Mast Fears
By PAUL AINSWORTH The Newark Advertiser 8th June 2007
