Gary's views

Gary's weekly views

Each week an article by Gary has appeared in the Plympton Plymstock and Ivybridge News in South West Devon. The articles are published here

Phone Masts

How would you like a mobile phone mast outside your garden, or next door to your child’s school playground? You wouldn’t, even if the wretched thing was camouflaged as an oak tree, and nor would I.

But why not? The experts tell us that they are safe. But let’s face it; the “experts” do not wholly convince us, maybe because they have often been wrong in the past. So although we are told the microwave emissions do not fry our brains, we like to keep our distance.

But how many of us have now got mobile phones and complain like mad when we enter an area of low signal? We all know that without an extensive network of mobile phone masts, this miracle of modern science simply cannot work.

And how disturbing is it that the local police are still waiting for their new communications system that could help save lives and catch crooks – but it cannot yet be rolled out due to lack of masts throughout the county.

This problem can only get worse. The development of the next generation of 3G phones – the ones that take pictures and give Internet access – will require even more masts. We currently have 40,000 in the whole country and will need an extra 100,000! So where will they all go?

I believe it is imperative to give local councils greater powers to reject them and place the onus on the telecommunications companies to prove that there is an essential need for controversial masts.

Which is why I am supporting a private members bill introduced by one of my colleagues in the House of Commons, and very much hope it will become law. We have had a number of controversial mast applications in this area in the past two years and it is bitterly frustrating that our councils have such feeble power to resist. This bill would put that right. It should also make it much more commonplace for different providers to share masts instead of building new ones. Let’s put them under pressure to do so.

Wherever possible I also believe that these masts should be installed alongside the major road network. This will give the providers plenty of choice and ease of access and will mean that fewer people - especially children - will actually be subjected to the possible risk, however remote, of extensive exposure to these unseen microwaves.

What do you think? mail@garystreeter.co.uk

posted by Nigel on Sunday, March 14, 2004