Hazel campaigns against Tetra masts

3.37.29pm GMT Thu 24th Mar 2005

The other Saturday, the village of Patcham saw a great deal of public spirit and communities working together. In the first of two public meetings local residents' and interested parties united to campaign against the Park and Ride scheme proposals for Patcham Court Farm and Braypool. At the packed Memorial Hall, the campaigners agreed to organise joint letters and petitions against the sites being vandalised in this way.

Hazel Thorpe, Lib Dem Parliamentary Candidate for Brighton Pavilion and others were unable to get in due to large numbers, but she said later that whilst Park and Ride projects may be a partial solution to congestion, it must not be at the expense of the environment, housing, and local residents' quality of life nor our animals and wildlife.

Later however, she did manage to meet local residents' at the second public meeting of the day. This time it was to campaign against the appalling situation caused by the siting of mobile phone masts in Brangwyn Way.

The meeting was attended well by residents but the local MP, and the Green Party were distinctive by their absence.

Our local MP proudly announced in Parliament on March 1st at a Tetra Mast debate , that his City Council had a policy of negotiating with landowners to prevent them being erected on their land, so surely this should apply to Council land? Indeed the residents are of the view that the Council has such a policy in place - Brangwyn Way is owned by the Council through the benevolence of a previous entrepreneur so why is it going ahead!

Residents were very annoyed about the attitude of the service provider and will be fighting their cause to have one mast taken down and prevent a second being erected.

It was suggested by Hazel that they might be advised to join forces with a Worthing group, who are also fighting for research into the health issues surrounding mobile phone and Tetra Masts.

The Worthing group, who have had a talk by Dr Gerard Hyland (International Physicist and concerned about Tetra Technology) about the reasonable doubt about mobile phone and cordless phone (DECT) microwaves and the health connection, and are keen to get in touch.

Contact Alan Rice 01903 603767 , Andy Davidson 01903 522521 or Tony Malone 07887 768826

Liberal Democrat MP Andrew Stunell is putting a Private Members Bill before Parliament on the 18th March with the view to giving Local Councils more planning power to suit local needs and to reinforce the need for an independent research into the possible health side effects of the microwave surges from mobile phone masts and DECT phones. For more information see ; http://www.planningsanity.co.uk/StunellPMB.pdf