City may lift phone mast ban

Sep 6 2005 By Paul Dale, Chief Reporter

An attempt by Birmingham City Council to stop mobile phone masts being sited close to schools and hospitals could be declared illegal.

The Government Office for the West Midlands has lodged an objection to the council's telecommunications policy, which it says is out of step with national planning guidelines.

There should be no no-go areas for masts, according to the Government.

GOWM's decision could lead to formal intervention by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, forcing the council to backtrack.

A report to the council cabinet sets out GOWM's view that the introduction of sensitive areas where masts would not normally be permitted could inhibit the growth of telecommunications systems.

Local authorities should not seek to exclude masts from certain areas, according to GOWM.

Council planners say their policy is justified given the concerns expressed in the 2004 Stewart Report, which raised the possibility that radiation from masts could be harmful, particularly to children.

In its response to GOWM, the council said: "The main objective of the policy is to ensure that there is full consideration of alternatives and that telecommunications equipment is sited in optimal locations which take account of technical considerations, visual obtrusiveness and other amenity issues.

"There is no blanket ban or cordon sanitaire, nor does the policy define a minimum distance between telecommunications equipment and existing development.

"The policy does not state that all applications within sensitive areas should be refused, but that they should be avoided in such areas, where possible."

Mick Wilkes, chairman of the council's main scrutiny committee, who championed the sensitive sites policy, said it was significant that none of the mobile phone companies had objected to the stance on schools and hospitals.

Coun Wilkes (Lib Dem Hall Green) added: "The intervention by the Government Office seems unhelpful and out of kilter with what most people would regard as a desirable policy.

"We should not yield ground on this issue because we are absolutely right."

Operators are seeking about 200 new sites in Birmingham to help to roll out the third generation of mobile phones.

Earlier this year the council lifted a ban on siting new masts on local authority property.

The masts row is one of several issues raised by people and organisations objecting to modifications to the Birmingham Unitary Development Plan - setting out development rules over the next decade.

Advantage West Midlands, the regional development agency, is opposing the council's wishes to promote only high-technology employment in the A38 Central Technology Belt, which includes the MG Rover site at Longbridge.

AWM believes the policy is inflexible and that other uses should be allowed.

Supermarket giants Sainsbury's is also objecting on the grounds that all large sites have been allocated for hightech employment.

Other retail operators are objecting to the council's " restrictive" policy making it difficult to obtain planning permission for superstores on sites close to the outer ring road.

Companies including Tesco and Morrison want the council to undertake a study to discover the extent of consumer demand for supermarkets.

Is the council right to ban mobile phone masts near schools and hospitals? Visit www.icbirmingham.co.uk/postviews and tell us what you think...