CHEERS and shouts of ‘we love you!’ echoed around a Somerset council chamber as plans for a new 5G mast in Frome were narrowly refused.
Mendip District Council’s planning board met in Shepton Mallet on the 16th March to debate plans for a new mast at the corner of Grove Lane and Manor Road in Frome, within one of the town’s main industrial areas.
Councillors were evenly split on the plans, disagreeing over the existing scientific evidence and weighing up the risk to residents’ health. With the committee deadlocked, chairman cllr Damon Hooton used his casting vote to turn the plans down, prompting rapturous applause from members of the public who had turned out in person.
The plans put forward by H3G (UK) Ltd entailed replacing the existing 4G mast with a 5G installation, with the new mast being 2.5 metres higher.
Councillor Shane Collins (whose Frome Keyford ward includes the site) said 5G was trying to be pushed on the British public by an ‘unholy alliance’ between the government, NGOs and the telecommunications industry.
He added, “There is a large and growing body of evidence to human exposure to radio-frequency radiation from cellular phone base stations causes negative health effects, including headaches, concentration difficulties, memory changes, dizziness, tremors, depressive symptoms, fatigue and sleep disturbance – as well as increased incidence of cancer.
“There is an unholy alliance of the telecom industry, some scientist NGOs and politicians. The policy process has been captured by business and is not keeping up with the science.”
Dr Erica Mallery-Blythe, co-founder of the Physicians’ Health Initiative for Radiation and Environment (PHIRE), said the plans should be refused since the existing safety guidelines for cellular towers were now “obsolete”.
She explained, “It’s no surprise that radio-frequency radiation has now been shown to cause serious biological effects below these limits – that would include serious cancer risks, nervous system disruptions and reproductive issues.
“The evidence of radio-frequency radiation’s carcinogenicity has elevated substantially since 2011. Experts are calling for this now to be designated in the same bracket as tobacco and X-rays.
“Our ecosystem is already struggling. It’s very important that people give fully informed consent over this.”
Cllr Francis Hayden (who is a retired physics teacher) took the opposite view, arguing the relatively low frequency of 5G signals meant they were not capable of causing cancer – a position which prompted heckles of ‘not true’ from the public area.
He said, “The radiation we’re talking about here is not ionising radiation. That’s the reason why microwave radiation and 4G don’t cause cancer – it heats us up, but that’s all it can do.
“5G goes around objects rather less well and is absorbed by trees, which makes me wonder how it’s going to work in rural areas. My chief concern about 5G is that it’s going to increase the digital divide between urban and rural areas.”
The mood was split among planning board members, with cllr Laura Waters, calling on the council to ensure local children were protected from any possible ill effects of the mast.
She said, “If we’re considering protecting children and their development at school, we should also be considering protecting children living in the houses, including babies. We have a duty to protect children living in the area.
“There are more houses being built close to that site. If the 5G mast had been there at the time of those applications, would they have been rejected on the grounds of their proximity to the mast?”
At its previous meeting in February, the board approved plans for several major developments near the mast site – comprising 249 homes either side of the B3092 The Mount (proposed by Barratt David Wilson Homes) and 198 homes either side of Sandys Hill Lane (brought forward by Curo Enterprise Ltd.).
In addition, the mast lies a short distance from the Colliers Court day centre and the site of a proposed development of 24 homes off Cherry Grove.
After around 45 minutes’ debate, the committee was tied by six votes each way, leading cllr Hooton to use his casting vote to refuse the plans – which prompted applause and one woman screaming ‘We love you!’.
By local democracy reporter Daniel Mumby.
