Plans to erect a phone mast near Birch Hill Park, off Hillberry Road, in Onchan have sparked controversy.
The site is located at Hillberry Water Reservoir, adjacent to a residential area at the northern edge of Douglas with the closest residential property around 60 metres away to the south of the site.
The proposal involves the installation of a 12-metre high slimline lattice mast at the site which was identified by Manx Telecom as the most suitable site option.
Manx Telecom say there is a lack of 2G, 3G and 4G coverage available in the Birch Hill and Governors Hill areas which results in their customers having difficulties accessing the mobile network.
A spokesman for Manx Telecom said: ‘We mailshotted the area and around 50 to 60 people attended. We let MHKs know earlier, back in December, and wrote to Onchan and Douglas North commissioners.
‘There was good cross-section of feedback, from people for and against the plan with some sitting on the fence.’
Onchan commissioner Rob Callister has spoken out against the plan. He said: ‘I fully agree the area needs improvement with regards to the telecom signal but this location is not the right place. We have been in advanced discussions with the Woodland Trust about setting up a picnic and family area there for over 12 months.
Mr Callister said that he would be meeting with some ratepayers who had expressed their concerns.
There is a 21 day consultation period, starting from February 1, during which time people may submit their views to the planning department on the proposal.
Other sites considered for the mast were, the Cat with no Tail pub and Elder Grange Nursing Home in Hailwood Avenue, Heywood Court Sheltered Housing, the Manx Blind Welfare Society and streetworks adjacent to Heywood Court.
Onchan MHK David Quirk is also against the site proposed. He said: ‘My main concern is a Council of Ministers report in 2009 which reviewed the impact of mobile phone masts on the Isle of Man.’
The report said, in it’s conclusions, that ‘no research demonstrated any biological or health effects from mobile phones or masts’.
However, in its research recommendations it also said that ‘cancer symptoms are rarely detectable until 10 to 15 years after the cancer-producing event and, since few people had used their phones for that long, it is too early to say for certain whether mobile phones could lead to cancer, or indeed other diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, which have not been studied at all.’
Mr Quirk said he has written to the Communications Commission, who license and regulate telecommunications in the island, expressing his concerns.
He added: ‘There is an obligation to cluster aerials together to minimise the number of towers or masts in and around the island. People are naturally worried about the consequences now and in the future of having a 49-foot tower with three aerials in their back garden. Manx Telecom needs to examine other areas which are more suitable to the needs of the community of the island.’
View the application at www.gov.im/categories/planning-and-building-control under reference 16/00068/TEL
Source: IOM Today
