This page is for you to read about other mast stories and realise that you are not alone in your fight. Please e-mail us your experiences, good or bad, mark your e-mail ‘my story' and send them to headoffice@mastaction.co.uk. We will then publish them on this page. We have started the ball rolling by giving our experience with the Orange mast in Goffs Oak.

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Orange mast in Goffs Oak.

In November, 1995 Orange plc., erected a mobile phone mast on the children's school playing field in the grounds of Goffs Oak JMI and Nursery School. There was no prior consultation with parents of the children at the school or with the residents living close to the site.

Since then, the Goffs Oak Action Group under the direction of Mast Action UK has campaigned tirelessly for its removal. We have attended numerous meetings with Orange, Mobile Operators Association (MOA), Government Ministers, Herts.County Council, Local Councillors and the school.

After lengthy negotiations between ourselves and Orange, looking at relocating the mast, Orange have now taken the decision to begin negotiations to resite the mast headgear on the electricity pylon near Chiltern Close.

Mast Action UK and its technical advisors suggested a possible alternative location that was technically viable and further away from residents and the school. This was option was refused by Orange. In a recent court case against Hutchison 3G, the judge stated that the location of a mast had to be the ‘best location' and alternative possibilities should be looked at.

Throughout this long campaign, now in it's ninth year, we have been utterly dismayed by the sheer lack of co-operation and support from the school governing body (who continued to accept the site annual rental of £3,000) and Herts C.C., both of whom have a duty of care to the school children, and from the elected local councillors, whose job it is to represent the legitimate serious concerns of the local community. Their standpoint has always been that the situation was hopeless, we were told 'you will just have to live with it' nothing could be done, therefore they did nothing.

We were always concerned for the health of the children, teachers and residents being constantly in close proximity to emissions from the mast, and made this point very clearly to the school and Chair of Governors, who apparently did not share the same view. However late in the day, there did seem to be a change of heart earlier this year when, the Chair of Governors confirmed that the governing body of Goffs Oak JMI & Nursery School would not allow Orange to upgrade the site on the children's playing field and that they wanted the mast removed.

Goffs Oak Action Group are aware that the school governing body has the information on the path of the main beam and have requested that it be released to parents and local residents, they have not seen fit to do so since according to the Chair of Governors ‘it is sensitive information.' However, it is surely information to which the school children's parents at the very least are entitled?

Orange has now begun the pre-consultation process with the parents of children at Goffs Oak JMI and Nursery School, the residents in Chiltern Close and Goffs Oak Residents Association, regarding the proposed application for the electricity pylon site.

First published on Thursday 13 January 2005 in the NELSON LEADER (North West local newspaper):

3 Mast at Moordown Bournemouth

In December 2005, a flagpole was erected on the back of our local pub. Some weeks later we found out it was actually a 3G telephone mast. It had been erected under permitted development rights as it was apparently under 4metres tall. No one at all was consulted about this. Greene King Brewery, who own the pub, Bournemouth Borough Council and Hutchinson 3G all told the furious residents that there was no legal obligation for consultation with the local residents!

We held a public meeting, gained 900 signatures and began the fight.

In a retrograde step a representative from the Brewery agreed under duress to come and meet the committee. He was very arrogant and told us in no uncertain terms that the Brewery had a national agreement and that this was purely for commerical profit. When we pressed him as to whether Greene King had conducted their own research outside of the information supplied by 3 he with conviction stated that the Company were satisfied these masts were safe and that "mowing your lawn, driving your car and crossing the road were more dangerous and yet we choose to do these things most days! We requested a copy of the companys public liability insurance policy to confirm they were covered again future claims from the residents, we are still awaiting a copy of this.

Hutchinson 3G conceeded to a "drop in meeting" for residents. They refused to see us all on mass and we had to negotiate with them for a long time on the evening in question before they would let us in. Mr Mike Dobson could not answer alot of our technical questions in relation to the output of the mast, and tried to treat us as if we were school children.

Bournemouth Borough Council have acted appallingly! We forced the council to measure the mast and requested to know when this was taking place. This request was ignored and some of us residents happened to see officers from the council in a crane measuring the mast one lunchtime! After confronting them they were not at all happy that we had found out and informed us that the mast was in fact 4.31metres. We spoke to the officer, Mr Nigel Billet and asked him to confirm that we were correct to assume that this was now an unlawful site and that it fell into the category of prior approval and therefore the council were duty bound to display orange public notices and take the publics objections. Mr Billet confirmed this. We asked what the next course of action would be and he informed us he would give 3G the option to lower the mast and that the council would not insist on a retrospective application for prior approval.

We heard later that day that Mr Billet had telephoned 3G within half an hour of the site visit to inform them what had happened.

We have been extremely let down by all three parties and no one is taking us seriously.

We demonstrated outside the pub and got tv coverage on Meridian and BBC south and into our local paper.

We are looking at alternative sites, but todate no one is really taking us seriously.

This mast is less than 5mtres from the bedroom of a newborn baby which is due in 3 months. The mother is so stressed she has been advised by the maternity hospital that they wish to keep her in for the duration of her pregnancy.

No one cares.

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MAST-WARS ! : DELIGHT AS ONE MORE MOBILE MAST COMES DOWN IN BRITAIN ! ! ! !

Hated mast is pulled down

Anti mobile phone mast protesters have pulled down a massive communication tower near to a Huntington youth club, following widespread fury at its controversial siting. The 12-metre Orange mast at the back of Littleton Youth Centre was ripped out of its foundations and dumped on its side by what is believed to be a number of protesters in the village. It is believed they used bolt-cutters to fell the mast.

Feelings about the contentious tower have been running high in the village since its siting in 2002 - this is the second attack on the mast in a number of months.

Residents in

"To be perfectly honest, I don't think you'll find anyone in the village who will be shocked by this," one resident, who did not want to be named, said.

"That thing is massive and nobody wanted it here at the time. It's right next to a youth centre and a playing field. How can that be safe?

"Everybody hears horror stories about these things and yet they stick it right next to where children play".

"I don't think you'll find anybody who will be upset about this. In fact we would probably buy them a round of drinks."

South Staffs District Council was inundated with protests when the mast was first erected. Residents' fears were also echoed by Huntington Parish Council who thought the tower was in the wrong place. Anger over a glut of mobile phone applications in the Chase area has been growing over the last few months. Many residents feel the area has become a 'dumping ground' for phone companies to erect their masts.

The concern comes at a time when Chase Council planning control committee councillor, Les Bullock, admitted the health guidelines the committee were given on mobile phone masts contained 'no cast-iron guarantee' on their safety.

"Nobody can give us a definitive answer on the safety of these things," mother of two Patricia Fellows said.

"To be truthful I'm glad it has been ripped down."

South Staffs and Huntington Parish Councillor Ron Kenyon said he understood the concerns of residents, but could not condone the actions of protesters-This is the second time they've had a go at it (the mast)," he said.

"It was not made welcome by the residents who really didn't want it here at all.

"Everybody has had enough of these things, but I have to say this is a bit extreme.

"They've tried to undo the bolts at the base it before. People are getting fed up with them and you can understand their frustration. But, obviously, you can't condone this sort of thing at all."

Nov 9 2005 (Independent source)

Stafford Road
, which runs along the bottom of the youth centre, told The Post they were not surprised by the incident.