By ROBERT GIBSON

Published at 13:37, Thursday, 18 September 2008

MOBILE phone group Vodfone has lodged planning applications for two new phone masts in Prudhoe.

In an effort to increase ‘3G’ – or Third Generation – coverage in the area, the company is proposing 17-metre tall ‘monopoles’ be erected at Eastwoods Farm, in West Wylam, and at Station Road industrial estate.

At the moment, 3G coverage, which allows phone users to get the most out of high-tech features like mobile broadband, is poor in the town, especially in West Wylam.

Thirteen other sites were considered before the Eastwoods Road site was chosen, and consultation has since been carried out with residents and councillors.

A petition of 28 signatures, however, has been submitted, saying residents would not support either this application or future ones. Five letters of objection have also been sent to Tynedale Council.

The proposed site is 400 metres from Prudhoe Eastwood Middle school, and some are worried about dangers to pupils and football teams using pitches there.

Concerns have also been raised about possible health risks.

“We don’t wish to have this eyesore on our doorstep,” one Eastwood Villas resident wrote.

“Also, our gardens are approximately 100 yards long. We now have new neighbours with an 18-month-old-child who no doubt will be playing in the garden in due course.

“It will be in too close a proximity of said monopole, with fears of radiation etc.”

A Horsley View resident also objected: “‘No evidence of health risks,’ you may say. But why take the chance?

“It will discourage people from wanting to live in the surrounding area as nobody wants to live next to a phone mast. Do you?”

The other selected site is at Gladstone Packaging industrial yard, near Ovingham Bridge.

Surrounding land is mainly industrial, but Prudhoe’s town councillors have raised concerns about visual impact on the popular Tyne Riverside Country Park.

At the last meeting of Prudhoe Town Council’s planning, contract and works committee, members agreed to object to the proposals.

Supplementary information submitted with each application said every effort would be made to minimise impact on the local environment.

The height of the proposed pole would be the minimum required to exceed the height of the surrounding clutter and provide the required level of coverage to the surrounding area.

A statement submitted on health impact said: “There are about 1,300 peer-reviewed publications on the biological and health effects of radiofrequency (RF) signals, which are used in mobile communication technology.

“Over the past 20 years, many national and international agencies have collated, summarised and assessed the publication in the research reviews.

“The majority of these reviews conclude that there is no scientific evidence that radiofrequency fields from radio base stations cause adverse health effects.”

The Eastwoods Farms application is set to be considered by Tynedale Council on October 6, and the other application on October 31.

Published by http://www.hexhamcourant.co.uk