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ISSUE:
Phone Masts
Councillors
block Putney phone masts at Richmond Court
Councillors
have put on hold a bid by mobile phone giants Orange to erect
telecommunications equipment on the roof of a Putney apartment
block.
The
company was seeking planning permission
to site six masts and four dishes at Richmond
Court on the Upper Richmond Road.
Planning
chairman Ravi Govindia said there was growing public concern at
the potential health risk from such installations:
"Despite
all the worries people have about the
health implications local planning committees
are not allowed to take these into account
when considering applications.
We are told by the Government that provided
the installation meets the appropriate
European guidelines we must ignore the
health aspects."
He
said councillors were being put in an
impossible position and that local people
were unable to
have their legitimately expressed concerns
taken on board.
"The
public perception is that ministers have been making it too easy
for the mobile phone giants. Often they can sidestep the need
to even obtain planning permission - simply by reducing the height
of the installation. "
The
planning committee voted to defer the application to allow time
for more consultation.
Leaseholders
in the block are now expected to use the time to find ways of
persuading their landlords to withdraw their consent for the equipment.
Outrage
regarding two planning proposals
Further
technical reports required re Egliston Lawns proposal
Local
residents comment on the Orange Transmitter
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