Anger over phone mast planned for Castletree Way

Published: 22nd April, 2011
by PETER GRUNER

A MOBILE phone company is planning to site a 50ft mast in a leafy residential area of Tufnell Park, close to two schools.

Islington Council have turned down the application from Vodafone for the phone mast at the corner of Dalmeny Avenue and Carleton Road.

But now the firm are appealing to the Government Planning Inspector for permission to position the device overlooking homes in Castletree Way.

Phone masts tend to be sited on roofs of tall building and this is believed to be one of the first where the operators want to build in the heart of a tree-lined community. 

Opponents warn that if this scheme is allowed it will act as a green light for mobile phone masts to be built virtually anywhere. 

Two years ago the council spent thousands of pounds remodelling and landscaping the corner and installing a park bench where Vodafone want to site the mast.

Vodafone’s claim that it will  blend in with the environment and have minimal impact on the surroundings is hotly disputed by residents.

Olaf Hiatink, 35, a married civil engineer with a two-and-a-half-year-old son, Olaf junior, said the site is a prime corner faced by properties with families and within yards of two schools. 

He added: “This is a totally inappropriate place to site a mobile phone mast. It will completely overshadow our homes and become a real blot on the landscape.”