Tobias Ellwood will join demonstrators on Saturday morning to protest about the lack of public consultation over the siting of a 3G mobile phone mast which has recently been put up at Holly Tree Public House on Wimbourne Road, close to a Bournemouth pre-school.

Hutchison 3G have admitted to Tobias they have received heavy criticism for failing to consult with residents and over the location of the mast.

The company has now also confessed the mast height (measured from the roof to the mast tip) is in fact 4.30 metres. They had originally claimed it was just 3.9 metres, below the 4 metre threshold which qualifies the mast as 'permitted development' under the Town and Country Planning Order 1995.

Bournemouth Borough Council were seen measuring the height of the mast for themselves on Friday and must now be aware that it is in breach of planning law.

Tobias Ellwood has asked Hutchison 3G to apply for retrospective planning permission which would mean local residents would get an opportunity to comment and councillors on the planning committee will have to put the decision to a vote.

Tobias has also written to the Bournemouth Council requesting a new policy be adopted, similar to other councils, to ensure local councillors are made aware of any mobile phone mast application, regardless of whether it's deemed 'permitted development' or not (under 4m from the top of building or under 15m as a stand alone mast).

Commenting on the development Tobias Ellwood said:

"I urge the Council to listen to the concerns of local residents and reconsider the positioning of this mast so close to a number of local schools. Hutchison 3G is the first of five mobile phone companies who want to locate this new generation of phone mast technology in Bournemouth. We must find a suitable location where a mast can be shared by all interested companies but on top of a pub, next to a pre-school, is obviously not it."