A CONTROVERSIAL plan to erect a 12-metre-high mobile phone mast in a residential area was thrown out by Watford councillors on Tuesday.

More than 50 people packed a development control meeting when councillors voted to scrap proposals for the mast at the junction of The Ridgeway and Courtlands Drive.

The council had received more than 400 letters from concerned residents outlining their fears over the mast which would be just 32-metres away from the nearest house.

They said that it was unsightly, damaging to the environment and believed its emissions could have potential long term health effects.

Telecommunications company Hutchinson 3G UK (H3G), which are looking to establish a national network in Britain, said they needed the mast to give phone coverage to parts of Nascot Ward and Park Ward.

Planning consultant Mr James Bayliss, representing H3G, assured councillors that the mast's emissions were well within Government safety guidelines.

Although the mast would be double the height of the nearest trees, Mr Bayliss said it would be designed to appear like a telegraph pole and so would not spoil the look of the the surrounding area.

But members of the planning committee were not won over. They ignored the advice of their officers - who had recommended that the application be approved - and voted the plans out.

July 11, 2002 12:30