Plans For Mobile Phone Mast Will Meet "Huge Opposition"

Hutchinson 3G's Application For Thames Road Causes Concern in Strand on the Green

Mobile phone company Hutchinson 3G has applied to Hounslow Council for planning permission to erect a 15 metre mast close to the railway bridge in Thames Road. However, the close proximity to Strand on the Green Schools has given parents and staff cause for concern.

Any school in the vicinity of such a planning application must be notified by law so when Headteacher Sue Harrison, received the letter outlining the application, she wasted no time calling public meeting for parents and local residents to air their views. It was decided at this meeting that the best method of response to the planning application was via Hounslow Council’s Planning Department website. The planning application is now live on the council’s site here.

Strand School Governor Mr R Mangtani wrote to the consultants acting on behalf of Hutchinson 3G stating “The school’s main concerns on the effects that may be attributed to exposure to electromagnetic radiation from the Node B base station, are largely consistent with that addressed within the Stewart report, this leads us to conclude that an alternative site for the Node B, away from Thames Road and the school, should instead be considered by H3G.

“The Stewart report concluded in 2000 that the balance of evidence to date suggests that exposures to RF radiation below guidelines recommended for the UK and those recommended by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) do not cause adverse health effects to the general population. We support the view that where configured correctly, radiation exposures from base stations are below those from mobile phones.

“There is now scientific evidence, however, which suggests that there may be biological effects occurring at exposures below these guidelines. We understand this does not necessarily mean that these effects lead to disease or injury but it is not possible to say that exposure to RF radiation, even at levels below national guidelines, is totally without potential adverse health effects. In the light of these findings the Expert Group recommended a precautionary approach to the use of mobile phone technologies until more detailed and scientifically robust information on any health effects becomes available.”

Headteacher Sue Harrison told ChiswickW4.com "Mobile phone masts are a relatively new phenomenon and so nobody knows what damage they can cause. Certainly, with so little evidence, nobody can claim they are safe. As the safety of our children is paramount, anything that presents a potential danger must be opposed.

"We have circulated all our families with information about the mast and have had a meeting for interested parties. I have no doubt that, when the application for the mast goes to planning, there will be a huge body of opposition."

June 19, 2007