Masts without permission ‘sends out the wrong signal’

FOUR mobile phone masts which suddenly appeared on the roof of a house close to Barnsbury conservation area have sparked outrage among residents.
Islington Council say that under current legislation the masts on a flat base above a four-storey house in Islington Park Street may not even need planning permission.
But film-maker Roger Lunn, who spotted the masts from the roof garden of his home before contacting the Town Hall’s planning department, said: “I was appalled that the devices can be erected, it seems, without planning permission. What happens if everyone wanted mobile phone masts on their roofs – where would it end?”
Many residents complain that the masts now block a view to the ornate Union Chapel spire.
Jenny May, a retired lecturer in art and design at Central St Martins College, said she couldn’t understand the “sheer audacity” of putting up the masts without proper consultation with the community. Residents have also been worried by reports which have suggested the masts, which emit small amounts of radiation, are a health risk.
• A government inspector gave Arsenal Football Club permission to install 32 mobile phone masts at the Emirates Stadium in 2007 despite opposition from Lib Dem councillors, Labour and the Greens.
PETER GRUNER