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Hampshire:
United Kingdom Created: 10 Jul 2005
POLICE TURN OUT IN FORCE IN WINCHESTER

The long-running Byron Avenue phone mast reached a dramatic climax yesterday when contractors arrived to erect the 12-metre mast in the leafy
Winchester cul-de-sac.
Residents, who have resisted telecom Orange for four and a half years, were shocked when heavy vehicles roared up the road accompanied by police.
“At one point there were twelve police officers,” said campaigner Karen Barratt.
“They even had a minibus parked outside the school.” Residents say that such a heavy presence, presumably to protect Orange contractors
against elderly residents and primary school children, was extraordinary given the demands being made on the force in the wake of the London bombings.

Campaigners, who sat on the site while a security fence was erected eventually left after being threatened with arrest.
“I feel sorry for the police in this situation,” said Karen Barratt.
“They would prefer to be getting on with their proper job of catching criminals but they have to follow orders from higher up.
These days policy is more in favour of looking after big companies than protecting communities.”

Orange took the decision to go ahead after Hampshire County Council refused to extinguish highway rights, which would have allowed
residents to take control of the tiny patch of land they have looked after for over thirty years.
“We were appalled by HCC’s decision,” said Caroline St. Leger Davey.
“They also promised to tell us the date when the mast erection would take place but did not do so.
In fact they didn’t notify anyone - not even the school.
It’s been a terrible shock to us all.”

The mast erection is likely to be completed today but given the twists and turns in the Byron Avenue saga so far, nobody is betting on
this being the end of the story.
Watch this space
Press release 12 July 2005
***************************************

WINCHESTER

Campaigners are incensed that the County’s legal department is recommending that the contract entered into with Chilbolton Avenue residents
Alan and Anne Saunders, be cancelled.
They also claim that the HCC Report shows total ignorance of the layout and history of the site, and that Cabinet members are being asked to make
a decision without visiting Byron Avenue.

“The officers seem to be pushing responsibility on to the Cabinet when what they should be doing is letting the matter go to the Magistrates Court as
originally agreed,” said Karen Barratt.
“I hope the councillors will realise that they are being asked to carry the can for the officers mishandling of this
application.”
CONTACTS
Karen Barratt tel: 01962 864388
Caroline St.Leger Davey tel: 01962 865716
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Land buy in doubt
Hampshire Chronicle
Campaigners battling to stop a mobile phone company erecting a mast on land near a Winchester school could have their plans to buy the land thwarted. Passions are already running high over the issue, but could get hotter if recommendations made by county council officers to block the purchase are
supported by councillors at next week's cabinet meeting on Monday
(June 13).
**********************************************''
Last week, the Hampshire Chronicle reported that the latest bid by campaigners, who have been fighting the mast for over four years,
was to buy the controversial patch of land in Byron Avenue.
Alan and Anne Saunders, who live in Chilbolton Avenue, next to the land, said their initial application to the council to gain legal rights had gone
smoothly and they had paid a £500 deposit. But they claimed the county had dragged its heels since over the
application and their inquiries about it had been ignored.
In the latest twist, supporters of the bid have been angered by news that the authority has been directed by officers to block the application
at Monday's specially-convened cabinet meeting. Karen Barratt, who has spearheaded the campaign against Orange's plans and will be speaking at
Monday's meeting, said: "I hope the cabinet will ignore this recommendation. "The points made in the officers' report all relate to maintaining an open aspect of the mast site. The fact that Orange is planning to erect a 12m mast there with a large equipment cabin seems to have escaped the council's notice."
Last week, a HCC spokesman said the matter was complicated because Orange had planning permission and that if the application went further, the
mobile phone giant would certainly "fight it".
The cabinet meeting on Monday will be in the main council chamber and will be open to the public.
*********************’

Today's press release 18 July 2005

FIFTH PHONE MAST VIGIL

After four and a half years of resistance, the first phase of the Byron Avenue phone mast battle ended last Wednesday when the 11.79 metre monopole was erected. The second phase of the campaign - to get the mast removed, begins this Wednesday when campaigner Karen Barratt holds her fifth twenty-four hour vigil on the site. She is asking everyone, who wishes to see Orange withdraw from Byron Avenue, to visit her anytime from noon on Wednesday 20 July to noon on Thursday 21 July and sign a message to the company’s Chief Executive.

Campaigners are proud that they have enabled so many children to complete their time at Western Primary School in a safe and secure environment but are worried about those who are still there. “My grandson attends the school and my little grand-daughter starts in September,” says Karen Barratt. “The Planning Inspector who gave Orange permission for this mast accepted that the beam of greatest intensity falls across the school. We have to continue this fight.” She is urging new parents to get involved in the campaign and says that moving children to other schools is no solution because the number of masts required for third generation phones means other schools are under similar threat.

END




*************************************'
From Karen -
If you can visit the vigil we'll be glad to see you. If you can't, please send a message of support. Directions for anyone who can make it. (see below)

Today's press release 18 July 2005

FIFTH PHONE MAST VIGIL
After four and a half years of resistance, the first phase of the Byron Avenue phone mast battle ended last Wednesday when the 11.79 metre
monopole was erected. The second phase of the campaign - to get the mast removed, begins this Wednesday when campaigner Karen Barratt
holds her fifth twenty-four hour vigil on the site. She is asking everyone, who wishes to see Orange withdraw from Byron Avenue, to visit her
anytime from noon on Wednesday 20 July to noon on Thursday 21 July and sign a message to the company’s Chief Executive.

Campaigners are proud that they have enabled so many children to complete their time at Western Primary School in a safe and secure environment
but are worried about those who are still there. “My grandson attends the school and my little grand-daughter starts in September,” says Karen Barratt.
“The Planning Inspector who gave Orange permission for this mast accepted that the beam of greatest intensity falls across the school.
We have to continue this fight.”
She is urging new parents to get involved in the campaign and says that moving children to other schools is no solution because the number of masts
required for third generation phones means other schools are under similar threat.
END

How to get to Byron Avenue from the M3: Leave at Junction 11.
Follow the signs A3090 Romsey until second roundabout.
Turn RIGHT and follow signs to Winchester.
After two sets of lights, approach roundabout marked ‘All routes’.
Turn LEFT into Chilbolton Avenue and immediately RIGHT into Sarum Road.
First LEFT into Greenhill Road. Next LEFT into Milverton Road and almost immediately
EFT again into Poets Way (leading to Byron Avenue).
Alternatively, Google: ‘street maps SO22 5AT’.
**************************************'
WINCHESTER
County blocks bid to buy phone mast land

A WINCHESTER couple say they will be reporting Hampshire County Council to the local government ombudsman over its decision to block their bid to buy a piece of land where a controversial phone mast is due to be sited.
Alan and Anne Saunders, who live in Chilbolton Avenue, are accusing the council of "mismanagement" of their application to buy the plot at Byron Avenue.
They want to know why, after accepting a £500 deposit, along with their formal request for legal rights over the land, the council "dragged its feet", notified phones giant, Orange, which has planning permission for a 39ft mast, and then decided, after all, not to sell it.
At a specially-convened meeting on Monday, cabinet members accepted the recommendation of Alison Quant, director of environment and head of corporate affairs, not to extinguish highways rights - and to refund the couple's deposit.
Mr Saunders, together with mast campaigners, Karen Barratt and Michael Etherington, spoke at the meeting.
They said the land was not used by pedestrians or cyclists as it was part of the verge and there was pavement in front of it.
They added that the land had been maintained by residents for nearly 30 years.
They pointed out that residents had planted on the land and it was used as a safe play area for children and was not in any way needed for high ways use.
Mr Saunders also added that should the land come into his possession there would be a legally binding covenant ensuring that no fencing would be erected on the site and nothing would be built there.
However, councillors thought the foliage was too overgrown and posed a risk to pedestrians and cyclists and the land should remain in council hands so that it could be maintained properly.
They also agreed with chief executive, Peter Robertson, that, should the land go to Mr Saunders, the county would have no control over it and would not be able to uphold any covenant agreement.
After the meeting Mrs Barratt said: "The decision is no surprise - we are used to being dismissed. Whatever they say about highways issues, we know councillors are nervous about what Orange might do and we're not giving up now."
Mr Saunders said: "It was ultimately predictable. They had a meeting two weeks ago which preempted this decision. It was just a democratic show. We are going to report them all to the ombudsman because of the way they proceeded with this.
"If we hadn't gone to the press, there would have been no meeting."
Mr Robertson said that it was Mrs and Mrs Saunders' right to report the council to the ombudsman if they so wished.
This is Hampshire
***********************************’’
Congleton:
Mast plan raises child cancer fear

Concern over children's health
Anxious residents in Congleton are urging the council to reject plans for a mobile telephone mast amid fears for children's health.
Concern is mounting that a built-up area heavily populated by young families could be dangerously exposed to radioactive emissions if a base
station earmarked for a site near the railway station gets the go-ahead.
Although experts have yet to find firm evidence linking telephone masts to illness, the CW12 residents group, which has carried out extensive
research examining the health risks posed by radioactivity, said that children were vulnerable to tumours and even cancer.
The health alert was sounded after telecommunications firm Vodafone confirmed it would be seeking planning permission in the coming weeks to install a
15m. mast and an equipment cabin outside the Railway Hotel on Biddulph Road.
It comes just months after a Government report advised against mobile 'phone masts being put up near schools.
This week, campaigners were planning to meet borough council leader Roland Domleo to inform him of the health risks involved.
Ian Hawkes, (60), who lives in nearby Fenton Close, has been looking into the effects of radiation on health for the past five years and has written a
booklet warning of the risks.
He said: "I am concerned over the effects the mast would have on the health of the children, as well as the rest of the residents in the neighbourhood.

Evidence
"There is more and more evidence to support D.N.A. damage, tumours, and non-benign cancer being caused. or at least aggravated by,
exposure to this type of radiation.
"It doesn't matter if it's high levels of exposure over a short time or low levels over a long time, in the end the result will be same."
Coun. Domleo vowed to "make sure every concern is considered", although he admitted he could not intervene with the planning procedure at this stage.
"I am surprised at the location of this site, which is why I want to make sure that every concern is fully considered," he said.
"It does concern me that there are people living very close to this site, particularly as health risks associated with telephone masts have not been confirmed
or totally denied."
In a statement, Vodafone said the development "would not have any significant impact on any residential dwellings".
Also responding to residents claims that the mast would be an "eyesore" and a "blight to the community", it added:
"Visual impact on the surrounding area has been kept to an absolute minimum and it is considered that an ultra slim line street works monopole will be an unobtrusive form on the existing land use."
Earlier this year widespread public concern prompted the Government to ask experts to investigate possible links between radiation exposure and illness.
The Independent Expert Group on Mobile 'Phones found from extensive research that children's developing nervous systems and thinner skulls made them
likely to be more vulnerable to exposure than adults.
The report, by board chairman Sir William Stewart, also cited E.U.-backed tests which showed radiation was able to damage D.N.A. in human cells
and a Swedish study linking long-term exposure to acoustic neuroma, a benign tumour deemed serious because of its positioning next to the brain.
Congleton, Cheshire www.beartown.co.uk 20.06.05
scotthesketh@chronicleseries.com
********************************************************''
WINCHESTER:
County blocks bid to buy phone mast land
A WINCHESTER couple say they will be reporting Hampshire County Council to the local government ombudsman over its decision to block
their bid to buy a piece of land where a controversial phone mast is due to be sited.
Alan and Anne Saunders, who live in Chilbolton Avenue, are accusing the council of "mismanagement" of their application to buy the
plot at Byron Avenue.
They want to know why, after accepting a £500 deposit, along with their formal request for legal rights over the land, the council "dragged its feet", notified phones giant, Orange, which has planning permission for a 39ft mast, and then decided, after all, not to sell it.
At a specially-convened meeting on Monday, cabinet members accepted the recommendation of Alison Quant, director of environment and head of corporate affairs, not to extinguish highways rights - and to refund the couple's deposit.
Mr Saunders, together with mast campaigners, Karen Barratt and Michael Etherington, spoke at the meeting.
They said the land was not used by pedestrians or cyclists as it was part of the verge and there was pavement in front of it.
They added that the land had been maintained by residents for nearly 30 years.
They pointed out that residents had planted on the land and it was used as a safe play area for children and was not in any way needed for
high ways use.
Mr Saunders also added that should the land come into his possession there would be a legally binding covenant ensuring that no fencing would be erected on the site and nothing would be built there.
However, councillors thought the foliage was too overgrown and posed a risk to pedestrians and cyclists and the land should remain in council
hands so that it could be maintained properly.
They also agreed with chief executive, Peter Robertson, that, should the land go to Mr Saunders, the county would have no control over it and
would not be able to uphold any covenant agreement.
After the meeting Mrs Barratt said: "The decision is no surprise - we are used to being dismissed. Whatever they say about highways issues,
we know councillors are nervous about what Orange might do and we're not giving up now."
Mr Saunders said: "It was ultimately predictable. They had a meeting two weeks ago which preempted this decision.
It was just a democratic show. We are going to report them all to the ombudsman because of the way they proceeded with this.
"If we hadn't gone to the press, there would have been no meeting."
Mr Robertson said that it was Mrs and Mrs Saunders' right to report the council to the ombudsman if they so wished.
This is Hampshire Date Published: Monday 20 June 2005
****************************************************'
WINCHESTER:
Mast protesters fail in bid to buy site
CAMPAIGNERS hoping to exploit a legal loophole in their fight against a Winchester phone mast have had their plans dashed by Hampshire County Council.
Alan and Anne Saunders, a city councillor, applied to buy the mast site in Byron Avenue and extinguish the highways rights.
That could have scuppered Orange's five-year struggle to erect the mast.
However, Mr and Mrs Saunders needed county council permission and its Cabinet yesterday blocked their move.
The Saunders, of Chilbolton Avenue, whose garden is next to the site, said after the meeting they would report the council to the ombudsman for mismanagement.
They said their initial application to gain legal rights had gone smoothly and they had paid a £500 deposit.
However, they claimed the county had since dragged its heels over the application and their inquiries had been ignored.
At the specially-convened meeting, Alison Quant, director of environment and head of corporate affairs, urged Cabinet members to make their decision on whether the council should retain the land purely on highways grounds.
Mr Saunders and fellow campaigners Karen Barrett and Michael Etherington, spoke at the meeting.
They argued the land was not used by pedestrians or cyclists as it was part of the verge and there was pavement in front of it. The land had been maintained by residents for nearly 30 years.
Mr Saunders added that should the land come into his possession there would be a legally-binding covenant ensuring that nothing would be built there.
Councillors thought that the foliage was too overgrown and posed a risk to pedestrians and cyclists and the land should remain in council hands so that it could be maintained properly.
Councillors agreed with chief executive Peter Robertson that should the land go to Mr Saunders, the county would have no control over it.
Councillors upheld the recommendation to refuse Mr Saunders' application to extinguish highways rights on the land and to reimburse the fee of £500 already paid.
After the meeting, Mrs Barrett said: "The decision is no surprise, we are used to being dismissed."
Mr Saunders said: "It was ultimately predictable. They had a meeting two weeks ago which pre-empted this decision. It was just a democratic show. We are going to report them all to the ombudsman because of the way they proceeded with this. If there was no media action there would have been no meeting."
Southampton Echo 14 06 05. Echo pictures by Stuart Martin.
******************************
WINCHESTER:
Land buy in doubt

Campaigners battling to stop a mobile phone company erecting a mast on land near a Winchester school could have their plans to buy the land thwarted.
Passions are already running high over the issue, but could get hotter if recommendations made by county council officers to block the purchase are supported by councillors at next week's cabinet meeting on Monday (June 13).
Last week, the Hampshire Chronicle reported that the latest bid by campaigners, who have been fighting the mast for over four years, was to buy the controversial patch of land in Byron Avenue.
Alan and Anne Saunders, who live in Chilbolton Avenue, next to the land, said their initial application to the council to gain legal rights had gone smoothly and they had paid a £500 deposit.
But they claimed the county had dragged its heels since over the application and their inquiries about it had been ignored.
In the latest twist, supporters of the bid have been angered by news that the authority has been directed by officers to block the application at Monday's specially-convened cabinet meeting.
Karen Barratt, who has spearheaded the campaign against Orange's plans and will be speaking at Monday's meeting, said: "I hope the cabinet will ignore this recommendation.
"The points made in the officers' report all relate to maintaining an open aspect of the mast site. The fact that Orange is planning to erect a 12m mast there with a large equipment cabin seems to have escaped the council's notice."
Last week, a HCC spokesman said the matter was complicated because Orange had planning permission and that if the application went further, the mobile phone giant would certainly "fight it".
The cabinet meeting on Monday will be in the main council chamber and will be open to the public.
Hampshire Chronicle

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