Residents' fury over mast plans

They want proposals for a 16.5 metre-high Airwave MMO2 Terrestrial Trunk Radio (Tetra) mast at Arundel police station to be scrapped.

A leading light in the campaign is John O' Brien, whose house in The Causeway would be within metres of the mast if it is built.

"This is not a case of not wanting it in my backyard, I don't want this anywhere in or near Arundel.

"Everyone who comes into Arundel on this road will be faced with this mast. This just tells tourists that we don't really care about the town.

"The frequency range of the system is very close to microwaves. It is going to be very close to the swimming pool, where there will be lots of children.

Young people are particularly susceptible to this type of radiation because they are still forming neural networks and their skulls are much softer.

"When you start irradiating people, the body develops its own protection. If you have any pre-existing conditions, such as cancerous cells, these are going to be protected as well and will thrive in the body, which is not a good thing."

The Government plans to have 4,000 Tetra masts in England by the end of next year as part of a digital mobile radio communications service for the police.

It has told planning authorities they cannot refuse permission for the masts on health grounds, but only on matters relating to siting and appearance.

Arundel town councillor and district councillor Don Ayling said the application contravened two points of Arun's local plan.

The plan states, in policy area three, that "no development will be permitted which would adversely affect views of Arundel or its special setting. It also states, in Dev41, that planning permission will be granted only for telecommunications development if there are no satisfactory alternative sites available.

At its meeting on Thursday, Arundel Town Council's interim planning and environment committee agreed that these two reasons would form the basis of an objection to the planning application, along with health concerns and the fact that there has been no public consultation before the submitting of the application.

But the campaigners, including Arun District councillor Paul Dendle and Arundel Town councillor Anne Harriott are equally, if not more, concerned about what they consider to be very real threats to health.

A report from pressure group Mast Sanity '“ which can be downloaded from www.mastsanity.org '“ quotes numerous scientific studies and surveys into the effects of radio and telephone transmitters on the human body.

The 380-400 megahertz signal can, it says, suppress the immune system and can lead to all sorts of conditions, including heart problems, depression and cancer.

The new digital mobile system is being brought in to give improved radio coverage for the police. It will also provide much better security as the digital radios cannot be scanned, unlike the old analogue system.

A statement from O2 Airwave service said: "Whilst Airwave is certainly not complacent about health and safety issues and is committed to engaging with all sides of the debate, recent research and evidence and the consensus within the scientific community gives us great reassurance that staff, customers and the public's health are not at risk through the national rollout of this system.

"We also know that the introduction of Airwave will bring significant public and police officer safety benefits throughout the country and help to improve policing in our communities.

"The system is already proving its value in areas where it has been introduced."