Mast safety fear (From Penarth Times)

Mast safety fear

FEARS have been raised over Penarth children's safety after Vodafone announced plans to erect a mast near two nurseries, despite the telecommunications giant insisting its equipment is safe.

The proposals have not yet been submitted to the Vale of Glamorgan Council planning department.

But the company embarked on a voluntary canvass to test public opinion around Clive Place and other selected areas falling into a cut-off zone of 250 metres around the potential site.

Justine Dobbs owns Orchard Day Nursery on Clive Place, and found out about the plans second-hand.

She told the Times: 'We knew nothing about them until one of our neighbours showed us a letter which was dropped through his door.

'We contacted the agent acting on behalf of Vodafone and he assured us we were on the list to have been informed.

'He sent us the information and when we saw how tall the post is, we were shocked.'

The planned mast is 10 metres high, and if the application is successful it will be placed at the junction of Jubilee Lane and Clive Place.

Carol Naylor, who lives in Clive Place, said: 'I've been around the neighbourhood and I was alarmed at the number of families with young children who knew nothing about these plans.

'I've taken a petition, and so far everyone I approached has signed it willingly.

'There are three points we have to take into consideration.

'The first is that this is a conservation area and the mast will look totally out of place.

'The second is that a 10-metre high pole will be obtrusive.

'But the third - and most important point - is medical. Until we can have 100 per cent proof that these masts do not harm our health, we are not prepared to be guinea pigs or put our children at risk.'

In 2000, an Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones, led by Sir William Stewart, advised the Government on the safety of mobile phone technology.

His report recommended that until more was known about potential health risks there should be a precautionary' approach to exposing children and other vulnerable groups to emissions.

A recent report in the British Medical Journal found there is no evidence to suggest there is a direct risk from telecommunications masts, but called for more research and a cautionary approach' in the meantime.

But Justine Dobbs is adamant that the mast should not be put up at the planned site.

'The mast will be put up between us in Orchard, and Nightingales Nursery on Albert Crescent,' she said.

'There's a doctors surgery a stone's throw away, not to mention Albert Primary school.

'Children are our greatest and most precious commodity.

'With the high density of population here, it's ridiculous to even consider this area as a potential site.'

Neighbour and retired university lecturer Jack Lingard is against the plans.

'It's beyond understanding why Vodafone would wish to site a mast on the edge of a public footpath, in a conservation area and so close to children's centres,' he said.

'We do not want this in anyone's back yard.'

Offering a cautionary word, Penarth AM Lorraine Barrett said: 'It's always a concern when these masts are proposed in such densely populated areas, particularly when there are schools and nurseries nearby.

'I would rather veer towards opposing this application because of the real concerns I know residents have.

'However, there is a huge demand for mobile phones and new generation phones and we all expect to have a good reception wherever we are these days.

'But there needs to be a balance between public safety and convenience.'

St Augustine's ward councillor Paul Church is strongly against the mast.

'This is a concern to us all,' he said.

'There is a worry with these masts going up everywhere that they give out radiation.

'People are very concerned because there are two nurseries very close to this mast.

'People in the area are getting together a petition and I have spoken to the Vale council and have been advised to get in touch with Vodafone, express our opinions and concerns, and hopefully be able to get them to stop considering this site for the mast.

'I'm going to do this shortly, and I'll be urging them to find a safer area to erect it.'

But Vodafone spokeswoman Jane Frapwell insists there are no risks.

She said: 'The 10 metre telegraph pole is referred to as street furniture, because that is how it is designed.

'People often ask why we cannot site these masts away from people. It is because they have a very limited cover, and if we place them on a hillside, you'd have to go to that hill to make a call.

'These masts are designed to be in communities. There are guidelines governing the levels of safety and our masts fall many hundreds of levels below the set minimum.

'The consultation we have carried out so far is purely voluntary, just to gauge people's feelings about the mast, and we will be lodging the application with the Vale of Glamorgan Council's planning department in due course.

'We were aware that one nursery had been missed off the list of places we wanted to contact. But they have now been given the information and the situation has been rectified.'