Update on mast proposals for Ash Lane, Randwick

See my blog for 4th March 2008 for more info on the proposals re the mast for Ash Lane Randwick. My response to Orange is enclosed below - this is only an initial consultation but I already have had two letters and six emails expressing dismay at the plans for a mast at that site.

Photos: Entrance to site for mast at Ash Lane - new gateway maybe of concern re cars using it to park in at night to eat take-aways etc.

It is interesting to recall that Cainscross Parish were 'consulted' last year about a second mast opposite the Prince of Wales on Cashes Green Road, this was a T Mobile one (my blog has more details). The Parish responded that they couldn't see why that chosen site was any more favourable than the alternatives that they listed. However the mast folk still followed on with an official notification several months later, so it would appear that like the post offices, the initial consultation is unlikely to make any difference to their decision.

As noted in the previous blog they don't need planning permission but they still have to give a
'prior notification' which is dealt with by SDC in a similar manner to an application in that they send it out to us for comment.

In the case of the Cashes Green mast there was already one mast on the opposite pavement - rather than being a reason for not having a second one, it seems to have set a precedent for
siting an additional one in the same location. As a local person commented to me, the second mast seems even worse because it is on the pavement by Sunny Hill but the bungalows are set up on the bank making them practically level with the mast head. However diagrams of the beams viewed at the time strangely appear to show it at its highest intensity further out than that...

Anyhow the Local Plan encourages mast sharing but many of the Local Plan policies also seem to have loopholes and according to the company in the Cashes Green case it wasn't feasible to share the existing mast. Whether that would have been a good idea or not is debatable because it would still have doubled the output from the health point of view, but perhaps we can surmise that in order to share they would have had to make the existing mast bigger or replace it with a single larger one which would have needed planning permission, whereas the different companies can install any number in one place as long as they are all under 15 meters even though the Local Plan says they should share to discourage a proliferation of masts.

Cainscross Parish is very densely populated - the most dense in Stroud District - and the only bit that isn't, is the bit that's in the AONB which is Doverow Hill, so the Parish Council understandably responded that they would prefer it to be located in the AONB because at least it would be away from the residential area and they also requested it be disguised as a tree like some masts have been.

PPG8, the planning guidance on phone masts, of course directs companies away from the AONB and as some claim they can't oppose masts on health grounds, the LPA can only comment on the visual aspect, so the Local Plan also says that they shouldn't be visually intrusive and talks about the impact on the local countryside without specifically mentioning the AONB, which is why they get away with putting them in built up areas. So it's a bit ironic to see that another company is now applying to put one in the countryside up above Randwick.

T Mobile's agent's response to Cainscross was apparently that the mast met all the official guidance on the health risks so there was no point in meeting them to discuss other locations if they chose to ignore the guidance. It is also worth noting that the Cainscross mast is quite neat - the one proposed for Ash Lane is meant to have up to 5 dishes (3 initially if I remember right)....anyway here is my response to their initial consultation:


Radio Base Station proposed for Ash Lane: reference GLO136 Atten: Martin Grey, Orange PCS Limited, The Point, 37 North Wharf Road, Paddington, London W2 1AG

I have received your letter that Orange mobile phone network hope to put a 15 metre mast at land adjacent to Ash Lane, Randwick. I have sought initial comments from a few residents and have received several very strong letters arguing against this site.

Firstly, having considered this site I believe it would be very visually intrusive for a mast - not from all angles but particularly looking east/west. As you know this is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and this proposed mast will impact on views from many sites.

Secondly you note that you have tried to find alternative sites. I would be very interested in knowing where you have considered as I would imagine there are a number of sites that are less visually intrusive than this site and further from people's homes.

Thirdly it was my understanding that the Government's Stewart Report sets out that the maximum beam of intensity should not fall on any part of a school premises. I hope you can confirm this is not the case, but equally I am very concerned that a number of homes will be effected by the beam.

I would welcome your views on this. I hope very much that you will reconsider this proposal and look instead at other more suitable sites. Yours sincerely, Cllr. Philip Booth