Southport residents to discuss phone mast application

Southport residents to discuss phone mast application 

A councillor has arranged a meeting between mobile phone operators and concerned residents to discuss plans for a new base station and mast close to their homes.

Cllr David Barton, of Dukes Ward on Sefton Council, took action after local people said they were worried about the plans by Vodafone and Telefónica, which runs O2, for a site at the at One Stop Shop, Belmont Street, Southport.

He will now be contacting residents to offer them the chance to meet with the operators to discuss the issue, after previously meeting their representatives on site to learn more about the proposals.

The application is due to be considered by Sefton Council.

Cllr Barton said: “As a local councillor for the area I am keen to represent residents’ views and concerns to the mobile phone operators and give them the chance to ask questions and learn more about the proposals.

“As I understand it, there is a specific hole in coverage where the surrounding sites in the existing network cannot cope with the coverage and capacity requirements needed.

“I believe that this is because the operators’ existing mast off Tulketh Street is due to be decommissioned and removed from the network.”

Vodafone and Telefónica have insisted that their base stations are designed and operated so that the public are not exposed to radio frequency fields above the guidelines set by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP).

“High quality mobile connectivity is now regarded by most people as a necessity rather than a luxury but we have to ensure that base stations and masts are located at the correct sites and that if people have concerns that they are fairly represented and dealt with.”

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