Ernie (78) vs. T-Mobile

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Pensioners and parents have been facing down bulldozers in Hackney as a community fights to stop T-Mobile building a phone mast near to a primary school and playground.

Hackney Council announced in July that it had rejected T-mobile's planning application for a mast near London Fields, following fierce local objections. But on 31 August residents of the nearby Wayman Court tower block were horrified to see building vehicles, and a large truck carrying a phone mast, turn up in Richmond Road. Ernie Cartwright (78), hung onto the park railings and vowed to stay there and stop the mast. The contractors lef.

Hackney had missed the deadline for replying to T-Mobile and the company had decided to ignore local views and go ahead.

At 8.15 a.m. on 2 September locals realised the contractors were back again. Two people kept building work at bay until the others came out in force and saw the workmen off. A protest was called for the same afternoon and a wide group of Hackney residents demonstrated - pensioners, parents and children, members of the London Fields User Group, school governors, and even a local councillor.

A month of hard campaigning followed. A demonstration of pensioners and mums outside the town hall led T Mobile to cancel a meeting with Hackney Council at the last minute. A formal deputation to the Council brought an apology from Deputy Mayor Jessica Crowe for the shortcomings of the Planning Department, and a promise that the Council would do everything it could to prevent the masts going up.

As we write, the council is helping T-Mobile look for other sites nearby. If a new application fails, it may again try to build on Richmond Road.

Reports from around the world about phone base stations (masts) point to disruption of sleep, appetite, memory, and concentration, to headaches, anxiety, seizures in those suffering from epilepsy, nose bleeds, especially amongst young children attending schools near masts, much reduced neutrophil (a white blood cell) counts, and unexplained cancer clusters.

Phone masts were thought to heat human tissue (thermal effects) but it is now known this is not a major problem. However this is no reason to abandon the precautionary principle, regarding development of the higher-frequency 3G system. A Dutch study found that volunteers suffered headaches and nausea when exposed to 3G but not with standard emissions. The London Fields mast would be for 3G.

Others suggest that the recent phone masts, may interfere with the electromagnetic patterns of the body. Such non-thermal effects are still rubbished by the NRPB, which sets UK limits solely on the basis of thermal effects.

Planning guidelines call on phone companies to consult fully with local bodies especially schools before a planning application. "I am appalled to see the school described as having been consulted when, to my knowledge, no such thing has happened," says head teacher Diane Roome. The tenants association of Wayman Court, just across the road, the local councillors, and the very active London Fields User Group, all deny that they ever heard from the company.

High-handed behaviour by phone companies is a frequent complaint. Airwave, a subsidiary of mmO2, which is building the police Tetra system, has attempted to bypass the planning laws and erect masts, even when permission has been refused. Campaigners say the company likes to present itself as a special case with emergency powers but in reality is subject to the same controls as other telecom operators. A BBC Three survey in November found 695 3G masts near schools. Of the 412 who responded to a survey, 314 schools said they had not been consulted.

More information.

London Fields No Mast Campaign www.nomast.org
Mast Sanity, especially on the Airwave/Tetra system. 97 Spa Crescent, Little Hulton, Manchester, M38 9TU, advice line 08704 322 377; www.tetrasanity.org
Powerwatch. 2 Tower Road, Sutton, Ely, Cambs, CB6 2QA; 01353 778814; www.powerwatch.org.uk
Mobile phone masts was shown on BBC3, 11 November, 9 pm. See www.bbc.co.uk.

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