Mast is rejected (From Penarth Times)

Mast is rejected

PARENTS, staff and children at two Penarth nurseries were celebrating this week after Vale planners turned down an application from Vodafone to build a telecommunications mast on Clive Place.

Councillors voted to back the recommendation of planning officers to turn down plans for the 10-metre high mast.

The decision was made on the grounds that the proposed mast would have been out of keeping with area"s status as a conservation area.

Councillor for St Augustine"s ward, Paul Church, who had campaigned against the installation, said: "I am delighted with the decision. However, I am unhappy with the circumstances. I think it is unfair that local planning authorities cannot turn down such applications on health and safety grounds. I am surprised that no-one has challenged the system in the European Court. What will happen if 10 or 15 years down the line we find out that they were dangerous after all?"

Alexandra Dobbs, manager of Orchard Day Nursery which is just yards from the proposed site, said: "All of the parents have told us how delighted they are with the decision, and of course the staff are also very pleased."

Parents and staff from Nightingales Nursery on Albert Crescent had also campaigned against the plans. An officer"s report said that the mast would "represent an alien and visually intrusive feature within the Penarth Conservation area."

Jane Frapwell, spokesperson for Vodafone, said: "We will be examining the wording of the decision carefully and then reviewing our options."

*The planning committee deferred a decision on a second mast application from T-Mobile on the site of the Robert Smith Garage on Windsor Road in Penarth.

Telecommunications antennae and a dish have already been installed on the site.

Cllr Liz Burnett said: "I think the description of the area in the report as mixed residential and commercial is inaccurate. To my mind it is predominantly a residential area. The garage is the only commercial premises.

"I think the visual impact of the application is significant because this is a gateway route into the town of Penarth.

"I am concerned for the health of residents in the area, particularly young children who will be near these masts for 24 hours a day. I understand they are particularly at risk when they are asleep. I think we need to ask ourselves at what point the proliferation of masts on this site becomes a health concern."

Chairman of the Planning Committee, Andrew Dobbinson said that decisions on the health risks posed by masts lay with national government.

He pointed out that according to the National Assembly government, as long as an application meets the International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) guidelines, it is not necessary for a local planning authority to further consider health aspects.