A CAMPAIGNER has lambasted Bromsgrove District Council planners who given the green light for a mobile phone mast to be built on Perryfields Road without the operator seeking permission.
The 20m pole with accompanying cabinets are being installed to increase 5G coverage in the area.
But Phil Haynes said: “There are known health and safety implications which are unquestionable and for companies to be able to put up a mast without the public being able to have their say on the issue is absolutely disgraceful.
“It is an infringement of people’s civil rights which have already been eroded over the past few months.
“I fear this could be like the asbestos situation where the long-term damage was not known for years and by then it was too late.”
Dr Shirin Joseph from the Radiation Research Trust, who also commented on the plan, claimed electromagnet radiation exposure (EMR) was dangerous to children, even within the recognised International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) levels.
He said the site was 100m from a nursery and close to a school, adding no meaningful consultation with local residents could be organised because of the pandemic.
Ruth Bamford, head of planning and regeneration, confirmed the decision on Tuesday and said it was not possible to question the principle of the development or resist it on inappropriate or greenbelt issues.
She said as the proposed installation met all the ICNIRP exposure standards, she considered it was acceptable on the public health grounds.
And she added the applicants had justified the proposed location which had been chosen as there was no viable alternative.
