03 November 2023 , 13:01
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A mum has managed to halt the construction of a towering 5G mast by parking her car on its intended site.
Elizabeth Grey, 49, from South Shields, parked her red Peugeot over the site in protest, claiming that locals feel "ignored" by telecoms giant Three and "let down" by South Tyneside Council. Despite 160 objections and a petition delivered to the council since March 24, the construction of the 20-metre mast was due to start on Monday.
However, Elizabeth, who lives with her husband Chris and their three children, had other plans. She parked her car on the site in what she describes as a "David and Goliath" fight. For now, it seems her plan has worked. Three has confirmed that it has temporarily paused installation due to disruption at the site and adverse weather conditions with Storm Ciaran - but works are expected to restart in the coming weeks.
Elizabeth hopes construction will not go ahead (Newcastle Chronicle)Jane told ChronicleLive: "It [the mast] is an astronomical height, it's the same height as the Angel of the North. They're going to place it in a residential area that's wall-to-wall houses which us residents are particularly fond of.
"It's over the road from a park and it's just the absolute wrong place to put something so tall and imposing. We've just been completely ignored and that's why I felt there's no option but to do something myself because all avenues have been used and there was nothing left to do."
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Elizabeth's car has now been fenced off by the builders, along with their equipment, as they remain unable to start on any work. Her car is understood to be legally parked so no one is able to move it without Elizabeth's permission - which she says she won't be giving.
She continued: "It's causing an inconvenience to me, but I only use the car to run to the shops or ferry the children around to places. I'm hoping that they'll move on to the next job and just think there's too much trouble in this area.
"It's a long shot but I just felt I had to do something, I couldn't just let that thing go up at the height it is, it's double the height of my [three-storey] house. I just couldn't let it go without doing something to show the company and the council the strength of feeling."
Her family car parked on the site in South Shields (Newcastle Chronicle)Elizabeth alleges that despite petitions and complaints, the council has turned a blind eye. However, Andrew Guy, the Green Party councillor for West Park ward, thinks the frustration is not solely directed at the council, but also at the planning process itself.
Councillors Guy and Jim Yare requested the council to enforce an Article 4 restriction on the grassy verges of the ward, hoping to give councillors and locals more say on what is placed outside their homes. But they were told that South Tyneside Council would not implement the Article 4 restriction.
The UK Government's National Planning Policy Framework, which supports the rollout of communications infrastructure like 5G and full fibre, advises local planning authorities against banning new electronic communications development in certain areas, imposing blanket Article 4 directions over a wide area or insisting on minimum distances between new and existing developments.
Councillor Guy said: "We had around 160 objections overall that were actually recorded. We spoke to a number of individuals who objected but hadn't put a formal objection in, so we actually struggled to find a single person in the area who supported the application.
"Looking back at it now, we had a consultation where people were completely ignored by design. The entire process has been made as easy as possible for telecommunications companies to put their masts where they want on public land.
Elizabeth Grey with her children Mathilde, Henry and Charlie (Newcastle Chronicle)"There's a really big disillusion in the planning system, it seems to favour corporations and silence residents. From the point of view as a representative for these residents, it's been quite disappointing seeing my residents ignored." Three confirmed that the installation had been temporarily paused due to disruption at the site and adverse weather conditions from Storm Ciaran.
A Three spokesperson said: "5G rollout is vital for residents and businesses of South Shields. We want to offer the community a reliable network experience and this new site will be critical to making that happen.
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"While we try to keep mast sites as unobtrusive as possible, they need to be situated where people will be using the service and, in many cases, in precise locations to ensure the widest breadth of coverage. We have used the latest, slimmest design pole in order to reduce visual impact."
A South Tyneside Council spokeswoman said: "The application was determined by officers under delegated powers, with consideration given to local and national planning policy and objections from local residents, before permission was granted."
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