On Sunday March 5th Tobias Ellwood will join residents to demonstrate against a mobile phone mast that has been erected in a Bournemouth conservation area thanks to a legal blunder.

The Council letter to Vodafone stipulating the grounds for refusal failed to say that the application had been refused. A period of 54 days in which the Council is required to notify the planning applicant of refusal has now lapsed and residents are bewildered to see the mast in Fisherman's Walk, Boscombe, that they understood had been refused permission, has now gone up.

Tobias Ellwood said:

"It appears that the Council failed to inform Vodafone correctly that planning permission had been refused. I have spoken with residents who are outraged that this has been allowed to happen and will be meeting representatives of Vodafone next week to express these views.

This is now the fourth mobile phone mast application to cause controversy and suggests the need for a more robust approach to dealing with mast applications.

Whilst we all use mobile phones, we also use cars; the siting of a new mast requires an appropriate consultation and planning just as a new road should.

Serious health concerns remain about the siting of masts and this particular mast sits in a conservation area, is close to a school and has already been seen to affect property prices."

Tobias is calling on the Council to:

1. Seek the removal of the Fisherman's Walk mast.
2. Make mast sharing in Bournemouth obligatory.
3. Introduce a policy of informing residents via the Council website of all submitted plans for masts.
4. Allow masts to be placed in designated areas on Council land (which is currently prohibited and would generate income for the Council).

Debate in the House of Commons

Tobias will be seeking amendments to the Telecommunications Masts (Planning Control) Private Members Bill, to be debated next Friday 3rd March.

The Bill would mean all planning applications for new masts would:

1. Be subject to the full planning process
Removing 'permitted development' of 'stand alone' masts of less than 15 metres or roof masts of less than 4 metres.

2. Include details of intensity and range of the antenna
Including setting out the area and range of the beam of greatest intensity.

The Bill gives schools, hospitals and residential homes the power to have masts removed from their premises.

Amendment calling for a single national mobile phone mast network

Tobias is asking for the Government to consider establishing one national mobile phone mast network (there are presently five).

As with the invention of the telegraph, which also saw many systems compete against each other, only to be combined into one network used by all land lines today, Tobias believes one mast system shared by all operators (as seen in other countries) would cut down the number of masts needed by 80%.

The demonstration will take place at the north end of Fisherman's Walk, next to Wentworth Avenue, Bournemouth at 12 noon on Sunday 5th March 2006.