Brent Council issues statement after residents protest about 'ugly ' 5G mast installations

Church Lane, Kingsbury

Fryent Way, border Wembley/Kingsbury near Country Park entrance

 A local resident wrote to Wembley Matters:

"Hello... My family and I live in Kingsbury and not far from where the mast on Church lane is. We can also actually see it from our back garden as it is so tall. It is a monstrosity and a real eye sore. My family and I were never contacted over the installation of that 5G mast over the lockdown period. 

We've never received any letters or emails about it. You can imagine the shock when we saw it. It dominates the little corner shop area and towers over everything. We are really not happy about it and want it to come down. We are also worried about how this mast impacts on our health and our children's health. 

Companies cannot get away with doing things like that without proper consultation with the residents and the council. We would love to know who gave permission for it to go up and an enquiry into it please. Thank you."

A Brent Council spokesperson said:

“Planning permission was sought for both installations last year. Consultation was undertaken, with letters sent out and site notices put up.  The potential impacts of the installations were considered and planning permission granted. 

Government policy supports the expansion of electronic communications networks, including next generation mobile technology (such as 5G) and full fibre broadband connections. Legislation also allows for small scale apparatus to be installed as part of a deemed approval process. 

Under these rules the Council has limited control and must decide the case within a fixed time period. If the latter is not met this defaults to an automatic consent.”

Petition launched against 25 metre high Welsh Harp phone mast - please sign

Cllr Roxanne Mashari (Labour, Welsh Harp) has launched a petition against the proposed erection of a 25 metre high phone mast on the Welsh Harp. You can sign the petition HERE

The petition to Brent Planning Department says:

Stop the building of a 25 metre phone mast in the beautiful Welsh Harp Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) which is the largest nature reserve in Greater London.

Why is this important?

The Welsh Harp is the only Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Brent or Barnet and is home to a wide and rich diversity of wildlife.

We are concerned by evidence suggesting a detrimental impact of wireless cell towers on wildlife as well as the building of such a visibly obstructive structure on the appearance and openness of this piece of Metropolitan Open Land. We believe that to give permission to this structure runs contrary to Brent Council's policy on the Protection and Enhancement of Open Space, Sports and Biodiversity.

The proposed improvement of 3G coverage resulting from the mast would appear to only benefit a very small area and is disproportionate to the greater disruption of land and surrounding wildlife.
The Welsh Harp is a truly unique and important site to local residents but also in its wider scientific, ecological and natural beauty value across London. It is our responsibility to preserve it for generations to come.

We therefore strongly object to the approval of this site for the construction of a Mobile Telephone Mast under application PA 17/4597.

To comment on the planning application individually please follow this LINK

Still time to comment on the 'devastating' Welsh Harp 25 metre phone mast

The various notices from Brent Council give different dates for the closure of consultation on the Welsh Harp Phone Mast ranging from November 23rd on the site notice, November 27th on some consultation letters to December 12th on the website (see above).

The website gives November 6th as the date of the consultation letter but it was not sent out until November 21st.

Residents have also had difficulty in getting their queries answered by Brent Planning department as this comment on their website shows:

I have been frustrated in my attempts to speak to someone in Planning North regarding PA 17/4597.
The case officer assigned on original documents Kieran Amery (x2144)- unsure if messages are picked up - no reply.
The case officer on the recent letter to Freda, Elliot Brown (x 6204) is away till27 Nov last day for the comments!
The general no. on the Council site and Planning North does not lead to a human person!

There has been some confusion about where the mast will actually be erected. It is not on the sailing club site itself at Birchen Grove as some supposed but close to the opposite bank:

Click on images to enlarge

'The proposed telecommunication tower and equipment would be sited within the South-Western far corner of the Brent Reservoir site. This is a considerable distance from the Sailing Club Grounds, however it is within close proximity to the Neasden Recreation Ground and the rear boundary of residential properties sited along Braemar Avenue and Aboyne Road'

The applicant states that they pre-consulted with ward councillors and Dawn Butler MP but got no response. They rejected Brent Council's pre-application proposed modification on the grounds that lowering the mast would reduce the signal and landscaping was not possible because the base of the mast would be a servicing area:

Pre - application consultation was carried out with the Local Planning Authority, Councillors Agha, Farah and Mashari, and Dawn Butler MP.

We received a formal pre - application response from the Local Planning Authority, stating that the application would be acceptable in principle but amendment s, including reducing the height of the proposed tower and providing landscaping, would be required to mitigate the potential detrimental impact on the surrounding area.

We received no responses from the Ward Councillors or the MP.

Cllr Agha is chair of both the Welsh Harp Joint Consultative Committee and Brent Planning Committee.

The Joint (Barnet and Brent) Welsh Harp Consultative Committee will be meeting on Tuesday November 28th. There is an item on the agenda for any planning issues, although this particular application is not specifically mentioned. The deadline for booking to make representations to the Committee has gone.

This objection sums up the issues:

I object to the above proposal:

1) Biodiversity and Wildlife

- The Welsh Harp is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI- the only one in Barnet and Brent) is a haven for migratory birds, bees, bats, butterflies and frogs.

There are 153 peer-viewed studies or articles reporting significant effects from EMF exposures on wildlife. http://www.emfresearch.com/emf-wildlife/

A six-year study of trees around wireless cell towers reveals the 'invisible' damage of exposure to RF radiation. Halgamuge, M.N. "Weak radiofrequency radiation exposure from mobile phone radiation on plants."Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine, vol. 36, no. 2, 2017, pp. 213-235

A mobile telephone mast in the Welsh Harp /Brent Reservoir will have devastating impact wild life and plants, which in turn will affect human wellbeing via the ecological chain.

2) Metropolitan Open Space (MOL)

- The London Plan which Brent Council follows closely, states Regarding Planning decisions, "the strongest protection should be given to London's Metropolitan Open Land and inappropriate development refused.... and to ...maintain the openness of MOL.

A mobile telephone mast will affect this openness in and around the proposed site.

- Brent's Core Policy (CP18) -Protection and Enhancement of Open Space, Sports and Biodiversity

Open space (including waterways) of local value will be protected from inappropriate development and will be preserved for the benefit, enjoyment, health and well being of Brent's residents, visitors and wildlife. Support (given) ...for the improvement of both open space and the built environment for biodiversity and nature conservation.

I am not against technological progress but we cannot afford to do it at the expense of our precious nature reserve so near central London which is so appreciated by an ever increasing population in the area.

The Brent Reservoir SSSI site is the largest in Barnet and Brent status and is also the largest Local Nature Reserve in Greater London and should therefore be given the strongest protection.

3) 3G Cover

The diagrams for 3G - now and after the proposed installation, do not reflect much of a change, according to the colour coding, with regards to the stated improved coverage. The improvement affects a very small area and is disproportionate to the greater disruption of land and surrounding wildlife.

I am therefore strongly objecting to the approval of this site for the construction of a Mobile Telephone Mast.

To comment on the application go to LINK. Remember to state either that you Object or you Support the application.