Parents win battle against phone mast

Parents who campaigned against a phone mast being built near a primary school have won their battle.

Parents who campaigned against a phone mast being built near a primary school have won their battle.

Mobile phone company T-Mobile wanted to put up a 40ft mast disguised as a telephone pole in the centre of Barnby, near Beccles. But protests from villagers have helped to convince planners to turn it down.

Parents at Barnby and North Cove Primary School were against the plans, and there was concern it would overshadow the village war memorial and cause traffic problems. Now officers at Waveney District Council have turned down the mast under delegated powers.

It was rejected because the pole and ground cabinets would have created an "unsightly clutter" and because it was "close to a residential area and the primary school and it was considered a precautionary approach should be adopted, following strong expression of possible health risks from local people."

But T-Mobile says possible health risks are not grounds for refusal, and that the government says the structures are safe.

Planners also felt T-Mobile had not sufficiently demonstrated there was no alternative site.

Adam Gill, who campaigned against the mast and whose daughters attend the school, said: "It is really good news."