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O2 & Vodafone sneak mast application onto school during holidays - get rejected
United Kingdom	Created: 7 Sep 2010
An attempt to put a mobile phone mast near a Barnes school has been stopped. Richmond Council rejected the plans by O2 and Vodafone, which would have seen the 13m mast erected in Lonsdale Road, just yards from Harrodian School, after worried residents objected. The application, submitted during the school holidays, would have been approved had the planning department not stepped in. Richmond Park MP Zac Goldsmith backed residents and vowed to continue working with them so concerns would be heard should an official planning application be submitted. He said: “I am delighted this mast has been denied. “It shouldn’t be possible for these sorts of applications to be submitted during school holidays, and I have written to the council asking it to review the rules.” The decision comes just weeks after Mr Goldsmith held a drop-in session for people to voice concerns about plans for a 15m phone mast in North Richmond, proposed by Network Rail.
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Source: Richmond and Twickenham Times, Christine Fleming, 03 Sep 2010

Government advisers: more masts needed to "save rural economy"
United Kingdom	Created: 7 Sep 2010
A lack of mobile phone masts across large swathes of the UK countryside is killing off the rural economy, according to a study published today. More aerials need to be built in less populated areas to improve the ‘patchy’ reception blamed for holding back out-of-town businesses and farmers. However, measures to increase the number of masts are being hit by strict planning permission rules and ‘Nimbys’ preventing them from being put up. According to a report by the Commission for Rural Communities, more aerials are necessary in order for the rural economy to survive. The commission also hit out at Ofcom figures indicating 99 per cent of the country has basic mobile phone coverage. Spokesman Chris Jacobs said the figure – based upon how many people can get a signal, meaning large areas could be suffering so long as the main towns were connected – was ‘inaccurate’. Coverage should be measured by the quality of signal across the country, he added. ‘In this day and age, communication is everything and lack of mobile phone coverage makes it impossible for rural businesses to compete,’ Mr Jacobs said. The commission’s report, Agenda For Change, urged for planning permission rules to be changed. Charles Trotman, head of business development at the Country Land And Business Association, told the Telegraph a third of the population has an intermittent phone signal. And he blamed ‘Nimbys’, which stands for ‘Not in my back yard’, for blocking aerials from going up. Many residents object to mobile phone masts being erected due to health concerns. This has led to companies disguising their aerials – sometimes as trees or a flag pole. A study in July found no link between living close to a mast and childhood cancers. Paul Miner, the senior planning officer at the Campaign to Protect Rural England, said measures should be taken to improve the 52,000 mobile phone masts already installed in the UK countryside. The government said it would considering the commission's findings.
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Source: Daily Mail, Carol Driver, 07 Sep 2010

Important!! Meeting in Upper Broughton, Leics LE14 3BH: September 4th, at 11am.
United Kingdom	Created: 3 Sep 2010
Dear Mast Victims! We´d like to invite you to attend our countrywide Mast Protest meeting at the Best Western Hotel, Upper Broughton, Leics LE14 3BH on Saturday, September 4th, at 11am. (Hotel link and directions: http://www.bw-leicesternorthhotel.co.uk/ ) We´re inviting groups and interested parties from all over the country to attend with a view to pooling ideas and organising a march on Downing Street at a later date. We thought the march could include handing over a petition to the Prime Minister asking for the government to update and tighten up the UK law on phone masts and give residents more say in where they are sited, and a rally with a few speakers in St James or Hyde Park. Brian Stein, Trustee of the Radiation Research Trust and Electrosensitivity UK will be chairing the meeting. Tea and coffee will be provided free of charge, but people will need to bring their own lunch as the hotel doesn’t have food available in the day. Hope that\'s ok. Please feel free to pass this invite on to any other groups/people you may have had contact with during your campaign- the more who attend, merrier. Perhaps two or three representatives from each would be enough? This is a nationwide problem and we believe we´´re not alone in thinking enough is enough and it´´s time for the concerns of the British public to be heard. We look forward to hearing from you. Please could you confirm if you are able to attend by midnight, Thursday, Sep 2 by replying to info@stopthemeltonmast.org.uk or ringing/texting 07940 139570, I \'m afraid my landline is out of action at the moment! Very best wishes, Sandra (Rickell) Stop the Melton Mast group Tel. 01664 560885 www.stopthemeltonmast.org.uk
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Source: Sandra (Rickell) /Agnes Ingvarsdottir

Barrie Trower\'s interview on Canadian radio
United Kingdom	Created: 30 Aug 2010
Please all, listen to this Very Important interview with Barry Thrower!!! http://www.cbc.ca/video/news/audioplayer.html?clipid=1573543914
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Source: EG/Agnes Ingvarsdottir

MP backs residents in mobile mast row
United Kingdom	Created: 28 Aug 2010
MORE than 300 residents have signed a petition calling for a telecommunications firm to scrap plans for a controversial phone mast. MP Bill Cash has handed the list of those opposed to the Cheadle scheme to Staffordshire Moorlands District Council. Members of the recently-formed Cheadle Mast Action Group collected the names. They are campaigning against Vodafone's plans to build a 50ft (15 metre) structure in Brookhouse Way. The firm is waiting to see if the council will approve its application for a certificate of lawfulness. That document would prove the firm complied with planning regulations when it started to install the mast. Vodafone began work in March despite residents being told the company had been refused planning permission. The firm argued it could go ahead because notice of refusal had not been received from the council within a stipulated period. Conservative MP for Stone Mr Cash, who is backing the residents, said he had now handed over the petition, which urges the council to reject the certificate for lawfulness. He added: "The council's original decision was welcomed by my constituents, who had objected vigorously against the proposed mast for several reasons, in particular its visual impact, the damaging effect it would have on house values in the area and its close proximity to family homes. "I have contacted the chief executive of Vodafone to inform them of our opposition and I have also asked Cheadle Town Council for their support." The application will go before the borough council's planning application committee on September 9. Greenways residents Martin and Lindy Lane, who helped launch the action group, have vowed to carry on their fight. Mr Lane, a 47-year-old financial adviser, said: "The group will be represented at the meeting in September to make sure the council knows the position of the residents on this one. "If the application is refused, Vodafone will probably have to look elsewhere if they want to pursue the development. "We have said all along we are happy to talk to them and suggest alternative sites in the area where we think a mast would be more suitable." A Vodafone spokesman confirmed it had submitted a certificate of lawfulness application for the site. "This is an opportunity for the council to consider whether consent already exists for the site," he added. "It won't go into issues such as the visual impact or the site selection process. "We understand that some people have concerns about the siting of masts, but, in order for us to provide a good network for mobile phones and mobile data services, we must have masts where people use the services – where they live, work and travel."
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Source: This is Staffordshire, adam blakeman, 24 Aug 2010

Telecom dirty tactics: O2 vowes to crush community resistance
United Kingdom	Created: 28 Aug 2010
MOBILE phone giant 02 has vowed to continue putting in planning applications for phone masts in Chafford Hundred until it is successful. Thurrock Council’s planning department rejected 02’s most recent application to erect a 41 foot phone mast on the corner of Warren Lane and Clock House Lane on Thursday night (August 26). Officers recommended the committee refused it on the grounds that it would have a detrimental impact on the amenities and outlook of the house nearest to it, and it also raises concerns about highways and pedestrian safety. 02 spokesman Jim Stevenson said at the meeting: “The last time I was here in March the application was knocked back. “We are going to put appeals in and we are very confident we will get them however long it takes us. “It was a surprise to me to find that this application had been refused. The officer did not indicate at the site visit he would recommend it for refusal.” The Gazette has followed the progress of campaign group No More Masts on Chafford who recently made their own documentary highlighting the dangers of a proposed mast in the area. Lize Ringelmann, spokesman for No More Masts on Chafford said: “We are ecstatic about the councillors decision to reject the plans and we were quite upset when O2 were saying it is not a busy road, when it really is. “02 have showed their arrogance by saying they are going keep appealing their planning applications. I hope they will come to their senses and look further a-field. “We are going to keep campaigning and we will stand behind any other residents who are in the same situation.” Ward councillor for South Chafford, Tunde Ojetola, who spoke in opposition at the meeting said afterwards: “We have mixed feelings, it’s good news the planning committee agreed with the officers recommendations. But I am concerned with 02’s veiled threat that they will just keep putting in more applications until they get what they want. “02 is a big company and they are throwing their weight around hoping residents will get tired of fighting. The residents will not give up.”
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Source: Thurrock Gazette, 27 Aug 2010

Fertility crisis in the UK
United Kingdom	Created: 24 Aug 2010
Egg and sperm donors may get thousands of pounds in fertility plan. Significant shift in policy aims to stop more childless couples seeking treatment abroad. Britain's fertility regulator is planning big changes to the strict rules governing egg and sperm donation in order to try to stop more childless couples from seeking treatment abroad. The sweeping liberalisation would see the most significant shift in policy governing sperm and egg donation since the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) was established. The changes could see the amount paid to women who donate eggs rise from £250 to several thousand pounds – but experts have warned the move would see women donating eggs purely for money. Donated sperm could also be used to start as many as 20 families rather than the current limit of 10, despite fears such a move would increase the risk of half-siblings unwittingly marrying or having children together. The HFEA intends to make donor-assisted conception easier by reducing the chronic shortages of donated eggs and sperm. Many fertility clinics have waiting lists of two years, and one in seven couples faces fertility problems. "We want to remove obstacles to donation," an HFEA spokeswoman said. "There are waiting lists of various lengths for people wanting to get access to treatment with donor eggs or sperm. We want to see if our policies are contributing to an unnecessary delay." The number of Britons opting to go to countries such as Spain and Cyprus to obtain eggs or sperm has persuaded the authority to consider how well the current system is working, she added. Experts fear some fertility centres overseas may offer substandard treatment, and the HFEA is worried that some people are turning to the internet in their desperation to acquire sperm, which may not have been screened to exclude the risk of genetic diseases. HFEA members and leading fertility doctors agree that an overhaul is necessary, but are divided about what to do. At the moment, paying egg and sperm donors is banned, and they can only receive £250 in lieu of loss of earnings for their action. Some argue the sum should be doubled, and others that Britain should copy the system in Spain, where women are paid €900 (£740) for each cycle of eggs. But the HFEA is also examining whether women should be paid several thousand pounds in order to increase the number of egg donors from the current figure of about 1,200 a year. Fertility experts say that is far too few to satisfy the growing demand for eggs, and is forcing more Britons to seek treatment abroad. The HFEA is looking into whether compensation should be closer to, or even the same as, the sums a woman can receive as a benefit in kind when she takes part in an egg sharing scheme – where a donor gives half her eggs to the fertility clinic and in return gets her own treatment free or at a big discount. The HFEA spokeswoman said: "Because of the cost of IVF treatment, the discount that someone might receive as a result of egg sharing could be worth several thousand pounds. There is a comparison between the two practices [the two different forms of egg donation], so should they be equalised? Should we bring some parity between egg donors and egg sharers?" Dr Tony Rutherford, chair of the British Fertility Society, which represents doctors in NHS and private clinics, said the £250 limit was too low to lure donors, but warned that allowing compensation to rise to several thousand pounds would see altruism lost in a rush for cash. "The principle of paying women to donate eggs for research is established in the UK, with approximately £1,500 being given per cycle. The issue here is that you are potentially straying into territory where the financial inducement becomes the principal reason for donation. You are then accepting that it is morally and ethically right to 'sell' gametes, and if that is the case, why put an artificial limit on the price and [instead] pay the going rate?" said Rutherford, a fertility doctor in Leeds. "Clearly there is a need to redress the balance, as £250 compensation is too low. What society needs to debate is where that limit should be to protect the integrity of donation." Professor Allan Pacey, a male-fertility expert at Sheffield University, said: "I think the 10 families rule should stay as it is and that the £250 should be increased a bit – maybe doubled – but not reach the sums we see in America, where it gets dirty. Over there, people get thousands of dollars for donating eggs or sperm, and there are greater premiums for good looks, which makes me feel very uncomfortable. "The payment ceiling could be raised a bit without opening the door to American-style commercialism." The Catholic church said that it would oppose either larger payments or the 10 families per sperm donation limit being increased. Professor David Jones, director of the church's Anscombe Bioethics Centre in Oxford, and an adviser to the bishops of England and Wales on fertility issues, said: "The church finds IVF ethically problematic and donor conception is worse … because it means the mother and father of the child won't be its biological parents. So when you start to pay people for it, it's even worse because you are encouraging, in the crudest kind of way, people who aren't going to be involved in the rearing of children to donate sperm or eggs. It's not just the church – a lot of people find the idea of payment problematic, because it's demeaning to procreation, that you should pay someone to take their child from them biologically." Josephine Quintavalle of Comment on Reproductive Ethics, a socially conservative campaign group, said: "We would be absolutely outraged if the HFEA increases the payment limits above £250. It's totally looking at the issue from the perspective of infertile couples who need eggs and will pay anything for them, and not from the perspective of the healthy woman they are trying to persuade to donate her eggs, and the risks she would incur by donating." The HFEA's chairwoman, Professor Lisa Jardine, said today that a move towards the Spanish system was being considered. A report is due to go to the HFEA executive early next month, and public consultation will follow. The trend towards older motherhood is raising demand for donor gametes as some women do not confront fertility problems until they try to conceive for the first time in their 30s or 40s, said Rutherford. Susan Seenan of Infertility Network UK, which helps infertile couples, said it was right that the question of payments and the 10 families rule were revisited. "Many patients are travelling abroad for treatment, often because of the severe lack of sperm and egg donors in the UK. Although many patients do receive a high standard of care abroad, this is not ideal." Dr Jennifer Speirs, a donation expert at Edinburgh University, said: "On the number of families, the battleline is drawn mainly between the private clinics, who pooh-pooh the idea that unwitting incest between people who are actually half-siblings is a problem, and the psychosocial experts who believe that in our culture the idea of being one of 15 siblings is uncomfortable and that the views of donor-conceived children must take priority." Related news: Oct 2009, Nigeria: Mobile-phone Basestation radiation causes sperm cell damage in mice Aug 2009, Israel: Study: Cellphones damage sperm cells Aug 2009, India: 25% city couples infertile Oct 2008, Australia: Yet Another Mobile-Phone Radiation & Infertility linking study Sep 2008, USA: Is That A Phone In Your Pocket? Sep 2007, Poland: Lack of offspring is a phenomenon concerning 15% of married couples in Poland Jul 2007, USA: Effects of cellular phone emissions on sperm motility in rats
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Source: Guardian, Denis Campbell, 22 Aug 2010

College phone mast consultation extended
United Kingdom	Created: 24 Aug 2010
PROTESTERS objecting to the erection of a 17,5-metre mobile phone mast at Godalming College have succeeded in extending the public consultation period. Residents living next to the college were originally given 14 days to respond to a proposal to install the mast in the corner of the front entrance car park close to a row of neighbouring properties. It will be less than 10ft from the end of Michael Payne’s garden, who complained this week that the college was being “very obnoxious” in not agreeing to host a ‘flagpole’ mast further away from residential properties on its roof. Tuesley Lane residents were formally notified of the proposal by 02 in a letter containing photographs of what the mast would look like, and told they had 14 days to respond. The deadline was originally Wednesday (August 18), but responding to objections by residents that the short notice was an attempt to “railroad it through” at a time when most people are away, the consultation was extended to September 1. A formal letter announcing the extension will now be circulated to residents. In its original communication, 02 informed local people that the college was not willing to entertain hosting a replica flagpole mast on its roof and the “slim line” column in its car park was the only option it would approve. The college has hosted an 02 mast on its roof for the past 20 years but when the lease came to an end earlier this year it said it did not want to renew the arrangement for the existing aerial, which it described as “unsightly”. 02 community liaison officer James Stevenson confirmed the college was keen to relocate the mast, which is needed to provide full mobile phone coverage in the area. “The college wanted us off the roof and would not allow us to go anywhere else on the roof, the only place we could relocate our base station to was the car park,” he said. "Nothing settled" Mr Payne said he did not understand why the college could not be more accommodating and agree to have a flagpole version on the roof to replace the existing aerial. “I’ll have a very large mast at the end of my garden with two cabinets right up against my fence that will make the same noise as a washing machine on a spin cycle day and night,” he said. “There will be a lot of objections to this public consultation. Parents with children at the college might not be very happy about it being in the car park as well. “There will be a lot more objections if 02 puts in a planning application for it to be there after the consultation.” South West Surrey MP Jeremy Hunt has been backing objectors and has raised their concerns with 02. “I am delighted that O2 have been reasonable enough to extend the consultation period." he said. "The original 14 days was simply not good enough and the timing left little opportunity for residents to speak on this emotive issue. “I hope that O2 will take on board the results of the consultation and seriously consider the positioning of this mast.” Responding on behalf of Godalming College this week, principal David Adelman indicated there could still be room for manoeuvre on the mast’s position. “All I would say at this stage is that nothing is settled or agreed between the college and 02 in terms of the location of a replacement aerial, or for that matter whether the college is prepared to host any kind of aerial on its site,” he said.
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Source: Get Surrey, Beatrice Phillpotts, 20 Aug 2010

Residents oppose second plan for a phone mast near houses
United Kingdom	Created: 22 Aug 2010
Residents in Twerton are fighting against a second set of plans to build a mobile phone mast near where they live. In May people in Poolemead Road were up in arms over a proposal to build a 49ft phone mast, which was rejected by councillors amid concern about the health implications of the development and the removal of a nearby tree. But now applicants O2 and Vodaphone have submitted a new plan to build a similar size mast just a few feet from the original location. Resident Joe Scofield, of Blackmore Drive, said many people were concerned about the proximity of the mast to Twerton Infant School and Nursery. He said the firm already had two other transmitters in Twerton and suggested the firm had timed the plans cynically. "Vodafone's mast application was, in my opinion, timed to coincide with school holidays, when it is harder to get the community together to take action," he said. But a spokeswoman for the phone firm said a full consultation process had taken place before submitting the latest application. She said: "The original application was refused because of the potential loss of an adjacent tree, as a result we have resubmitted a planning application for a base station located further away from the tree. "We undertook pre-application consultation with the MP, ward councillors and a local school." She added: "We recognise that some communities are concerned regarding the deployment of radio base stations close to residential areas but without radio base stations, mobile phones will not be able to work. "All of our base stations are designed, built and operated in accordance with stringent international guidelines. Typical public exposures from our base stations will be many hundreds, if not thousands, of times below these guidelines." Nearly 30 objections have already been made to the proposals via the B&NES Council website and Mr Scofield has encouraged more to voice their concerns. A petition has also been set up, with forms at the post office in Wedgewood Road, St Michael's Surgery and the Time Bank offices in Twerton High Street.
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Source: Bath Chronicle, 19 Aug 2010

Anger as O2 phone mast gets green light
United Kingdom	Created: 19 Aug 2010
ANGRY residents hit out this week when it emerged plans for a mobile phone mast were to go ahead - despite being initially rejected. The application by O2 to place the mast next to Condorrat Library, on North Road, was refused by planning officials at North Lanarkshire Council earlier this year. But, after appealing the decision to the Scottish Government, O2 has now had the application granted. Vice-chairman of Condorrat Residents' and Tenants' Association, John Burke, said: "This mast was unanimously rejected by the council and residents. "The decision by the Scottish Government has put a dampener on the village. We will now have four phone masts in the area. The health affects of these are still not known. "It's also going to cause disabled access problems at the library and will be an issue for kids walking to school." Local councillor and planning committee member Danny Carrigan said he was 'bitterly disappointed' that the Scottish Government had allowed the mast to go ahead in the face of such strong opposition from the local community and the council's planning committee. He added: "I am also disappointed the telephone company did not take up my offer of meeting to discuss an alternative site. "We realise that mobiles are required in society now, but this site is impractical. It's on a pavement next to the library." A spokesman for O2 said: "We carried out an assessment of the recent planning refusal and it was apparent that we had grounds for an appeal. "O2 and Vodafone take these public concerns seriously and are committed to providing the latest independent peer-reviewed research findings, information, advice and guidance from national and international agencies on radio frequency/electromagnetic fields." Work on the mast will start later this year and it should be finished by January 2011.
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Source: Cumbernauld News, 18 Aug 2010

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