Timperley residents oppose mobile phone mast plans

The proposed Radio Base Station would be built on the border of Raven Road and Wood Road - just metres away from Heyes Lane junior and infant schools.

Vodafone and O2 submitted the proposals to local residents before Christmas - giving a two-week consultation period to register objections before Telefonica apply for planning permission.

But many residents were unable to respond in time because they were away over Christmas and the schools did not receive the letter until term started in January - after the initial consultation period had ended.

There were also complaints from residents about the number of letters posted.

Stan Day, 70, who lives on Wood Road, claimed that only a handful of those who live near the affected area received notification and those on Arcadia Avenue were not informed.

He started a campaign to prevent the construction and more than 65 people have signed a petition against it.

Neil Taylor, liberal democrat councillor forTimperley, has written to oppose the plans because of the proximity of the school and of nearby houses.

“Where it’s going to go is virtually in people’s gardens and I’ve got reservations about how close it is to the school,” he said.

There are no legal restrictions about how close a mobile phone mast can be built to a school but Mr Taylor said he did not think they should not be built within 400 metres of the boundary.

He said that governers at Heyes Lane Infant School had written to Telefonica to request an extension of the consultation period.

Carol Royle, headteacher at Heyes Lane Junior School, said the matter would be discussed at a governors meeting on Wednesday, January 20th .

Tom Powell, from Telefonica, said the site had been chosen because it would provide good mobile phone coverage for the area.

“A decision will be made once we have concluded the public consultation exercise depending on the level of objection to this proposal,” he said.