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Bretton: Residents' backlash against phone mast
ANGRY residents have today begun a fight to stop a 45-foot high mobile phone mast being put up close to their homes in a leafy Peterborough suburb.
ANGRY residents have today begun a fight to stop a 45-foot high mobile phone mast being put up close to their homes in a leafy Peterborough suburb.The first householders in Hyholmes and Gullymore, in Bretton, knew of the plans by telecommunications giant O2 was a small notice stuck up in a bus shelter by Peterborough City Council.
The notice has since been ripped down by vandals.
It warned residents that the scheme did not need to go before councillors in the usual public planning application process.
Instead, it will be considered by planning officers who have until April 4 to make a decision. Under government guidelines the only factors they can take into account are the mast's design and the siting location.
O2 wants to put up the mast on a tree-lined grass verge off Bretton Way, in Bretton, to boost the network coverage both for itself and Vodafone. John Allen, of Gullymore, said: "We are very concerned about the aesthetics of putting a blight like this on a stretch of what is a very green area."
His neighbour Jackie Hirst added: "We are also worried about what will happen to house valuations. I have moved eight times in the last 40 years and the main thing I try to avoid when moving somewhere is nearby masts."
Fred Sole, of Hyholmes, said: "I think the mast will detract value from properties, have a negative visual impact on an attractive area and it could be a hazard to drivers as it is only two metres from the road."
The residents plan to make their feelings known at a meeting of Bretton Parish Council at the Pyramid Centre tomorrow evening as they seek to persuade local councillors to join them in their fight against the mast. Protesters have until March 9 to lodge objections. But not all are against the mast, with one, who did not wish to be named, arguing that the O2 phone reception was poor.
"They've got to go somewhere and the nearest one, I think, is at the Bretton Centre. The poor signal I get from there sometimes cuts me off mid-conversation."
O2, which has an agreement to share its networks with Vodafone, said it was in the middle of a process to fill in areas which do not have good reception.
Community relationship manager Angela Johnson said: "People are now downloading a lot of music and videos on their mobile phone and obviously we need more capacity to cope with that."
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Sunday 12 February 2012
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