This afternoon was spent (with several other volunteers) knocking on doors collecting signatures on a petition against the proposed Vodafone mast in Lower Elmstone Drive. Over 200 residents from the area around the site have signed already. My thanks to all the signatories and to the volunteers.
I have just sent in my comments on Vodafone’s propsal to the Planning Dept at Reading BC. They are set out below.
Reference 10/01787/TEL Vodafone Mast in Lower Elmstone Drive
Having read through Vodafone’s submission and supporting statement I am dismayed by their lack of attention to detail and their contradictory statements. It shows a very amateurish approach to a very serious planning application that could blight this part of Tilehurst for many years to come. I sincerely hope that this planning application is refused. My objections are set out below.
The Supplementary Information Sheet clearly shows that the mast height will be 15 metres as per the site diagrams which also show the tree line to be 10.5 metres. The Supporting Statement says that the trees behind the site ‘would act as a screening for the proposal.’ Well yes, from one side this may be true but from the other three sides the mast will stick out like a sore thumb as indeed it will from further up the hill behind the trees where houses in Prince William Drive will have a fine view of a 15 metre high mast protruding over the tree line. Not even Vodafone can hide a 15 metre mast in Tilehurst.
Apparently Vodafone think that a 15 metre high mast will blend into the context of the street scene more than other sites in the area. There are very few places where a 15 metre tall mast will ’blend into the street scene’ anywhere in Tilehurst.
On Page 5 of the Supporting Statement I really object to Vodafone’s deceit and contempt for the Council when they state that ‘the proposed installation would be similar in design and close in height (13.8 metres) to existing street furniture (street lamps are 8 metres high).’ Their own diagrams show the mast at 15 metres high and the existing street light at 6 metres high. Do Vodafone expect that we will simply accept this fiddling of the figures to minimise the impact of the mast? This is deceitful and Vodafone should be told in no uncertain terms that such wilful inaccuracies in their statements are not what we expect from a large well-known company with the resources that it has at its disposal. The spin they have used to justify their belief that the installation would not stick out as an eyesore for miles around is simply not acceptable.
On Page 7 we learn that ‘the proposal installation would be 13.8 metres in height to the base of the antennas. The top 2.1 metres would extend above the base of the structure.’ Even by my poor standard of mathematics that indicates a mast height of 15.9 meters, nearly a meter more than their plans show. In other words the structure will be nearly 16 metres tall and well above the existing tree line which is 10.5 metres and nearly 10 metres taller than the street light with which it is supposed to ‘blend’.
It is my belief that the Current application from Vodafone contains too many inaccuracies for it to be considered and they would do well in future to decide whether the mast is 13.8 metres, 15 metres or 15.9 metres tall before sending in their application.
I also object to the use of the public footpath which will be blocked by the proposed cabinet (1.898 x 0.798 x 1.648 metres) for no good reason other than a very large company such as Vodafone apparently cannot afford to pay to have their mast erected on the private land adjoining the footpath.
More importantly I believe that a 15 or even 16 metre high mast is inappropriate for the site in Lower Elmstone Drive. It cannot ‘blend’ into the existing street scene and Vodafone are simply lying through their teeth by suggesting otherwise. This is a monstrosity that nobody wants outside their window (and for the houses in Fern Glen in particular it will be very close to their windows). It is the key to deciding this application once Vodafone have settled on the exact height of the mast. This area of Tilehurst is wholly residential and having talked with a large number of local residents, the vast majority agree that it will be an unwelcome eyesore.
