10:07am Wednesday 19th March 2008
By Diana Pilkington
Plans to place mobile phone antennas on a Putney boat club have been given the green light, despite fears of "terrifying" frequency levels.
The 2G and 3G masts, which have sparked 64 objections from residents, will be installed inside replica chimneys on the roof of the Imperial College Boat Club in the Embankment.
At a meeting of Wandsworth's planning committee last Thursday, Councillor Rosemary Torrington raised concerns about "terrifying" frequency levels and "frightening" signage alerting passersby.
"If I were a resident living nearby I'd be very worried about having masts next to me," she said.
"The coverage also extends to Fulham. It would be nice if they would seek to site it in Fulham and not impose it on Putney residents."
Health fears were prominent among residents' concerns, but most members voted in support of the plans.
As the proposed antennas comply with Government guidance, the authority is powerless to refuse them on health grounds.
Proposals to build eight mobile phone masts in Southfields created a storm of objection among residents last summer, but the committee managed to reject the plans for aesthetic reasons.
Urging his colleagues to lobby the Government for a change in the rules, Coun Martin Johnson lamented the lack of expert advice available for local authorities in this field.
He said: "Until the Government changes the guidance we will always have this issue.
"There are still very serious health concerns that lots of people in the area have raised but it seems there's absolutely nothing we can do about that."
Opposition leader Coun Belton pointed out, however, that only three of Wandsworth's 60 councillors do not have their own mobile phone.
"It's like people fussing about ecology and flying every weekend to New York.
"If you were so concerned I'm sure you would never use the mobile phone because of the effect on your ear lobes."
A spokesman for Vodafone, the network behind the plans, said: "All of Vodafone's base stations are designed, built and operated to ensure compliance with stringent international exposure guidelines."
He added that these guidelines are under regular review.
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