Third mobile phone company planning a mast for busy street

A BUSY Exeter street could soon have three telephone masts within the space of 225m.

Phone company O2 already has permission to put up a structure in Barrack Road, just south of the bus stop on the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital side of the road.

And Vodafone has been given the go ahead on appeal for a mast 25m north of the O2 site.

Now, Orange wants to put up a third, 200m from the Vodafone site, on the same side of the road. All the masts will be about 40ft tall.

The phone companies have been looking for new sites because the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital has withdrawn permission for the masts on the roof of the pathology lab.

While Exeter City Council approved the O2 mast, planners objected to Vodafone's proposal, arguing it would add to the street clutter and detract from Barrack Road's appearance.

It was also feared that it would narrow the pavement and block drivers' vision, causing additional danger for everyone using the road.

Richard Short, the city's head of planning services, told the Echo: "Telecom companies have masts on the RD&E pathology lab. They have been given notice to quit and are seeking alternative sites.

"I understand some of the facilities may also provide hospital paging services.

"The inspector who conducted the appeal on the Vodafone application decided that the narrowing of the pavement as a result of the structures posed no harm to highway safety.

"The inspector to an extent accepted the council's concern that it would increase the street clutter but considered that this was outweighed by the need."

Three objections were made, with Exeter School pointing out that there were concerns about possible risks to health from masts.

The school also questioned why they were being put at ground level, exposing them to vandals and damage from traffic. When contacted by the Echo, the school declined to comment on the latest application from Orange.

A spokeswoman for the Royal Devon & Exeter NHS Foundation Trust said: "Notice has been given to four companies to remove the masts on the top of the pathology building so that we can have access to repair the roof.

"Unannounced visits by engineers for access to the roof have been disruptive because it has involved shutting down a system within the building which needs to be on when staff are working in the laboratories."