George Westwater, Conservative Councillor for Weetslade Ward, North Tyneside, has expressed how pleased he is that the planning committee has refused permission for the erection of a phone mast in a busy residential part of Wideopen.
Telecoms company O2 had submitted a planning application to put up a 12.5-metre high mobile phone mast on the corner of Canterbury Way and Stalks Road in Wideopen. Cllr Westwater, in conjunction with concerned residents who had signed a petition, ‘called in’ the planning application for further consideration by North Tyneside Council’s Planning Committee.
Commenting, Cllr Westwater said "This phone mast would have been located in a busy area next to a bus stop used by children, the elderly and other members of our community. Studies about the health effects of radiation from mobile antennae have been inconclusive, so how could we possibly allow this application to go ahead? It is not right to gamble with people’s health in this way. The community did not want a mobile phone mast here." Residents and Councillor Westwater successfully fought off the application and would like to thank publicly all of the 800 people who signed the petition and those that wrote the 64 letters of objection to the mast.
Cllr Westwater added "We need our local communities to feel empowered in order to help prevent mobile phone masts popping up in inappropriate places, like next to bus stops and schools. This shows what residents can do with support from their elected councillors. It is a success story that others can repeat. The will of local residents and commonsense has finally prevailed."
