Victory for phone mast campaigners

10:54am Saturday 23rd February 2008

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By Duncan Eaton »

JUBILANT residents have scored a major victory in their campaign to pull the plug on a plan to put a phone mast near their homes.

As reported by the Daily Echo, a move by Vodafone to put a 14m mast on a green near the busy Bournemouth Road and Leigh Road junction in Chandler's Ford caused a storm of protest.

But now the mast plan has been crushed after councillors unanimously rejected the application.

Residents, pictured, launched their campaign a year ago when they spotted a notice about the proposed mast on a lamppost.

The proximity of the proposed mast to homes sparked worries over health implications. It would have also been near a filling station where mobile phone users are asked not to use their phones while filling their tanks.

Residents wanted to know where maintenance vehicles, called to check the mast, would park at the busy traffic lights.

Eastleigh councillors had considered a report from planning officer Clare Martin who said that the excessive height of the mast would have had an overbearing effect not only on the street scene but within the wider locality.

The controversial planning application had been referred to the local area committee for a full debate following a move by Councillor Godfrey Olson.

After the meeting he said: "I am very pleased that it was refused.

It was the most inappropriate place to have a mast at a busy junction where there is already a great deal of street furniture.

"Together with all the boxes that are needed for the mast it would have been an absolute eyesore."

A Vodafone spokesman said: "We will undertake a thorough review of the decision notice from the local authority before taking any decision on whether we will appeal or look for a new site.

"There is still a need to improve the 3G coverage for our customers in the surrounding area."