The construction of a 40ft ‘monstrosity’ mobile phone mast in the middle of a busy pavement has caused fury in a seaside village.
One local was so outraged that the 5G mast was being hoisted by the Three network that she parked her car on the site, delaying workmen for more than a week.
However her protest was futile and the mast has now towered above homes and shops in affluent Marske-by-the-Sea, North Yorkshire, since mid-August.
Residents say the structure is ‘absurd’ and ‘bananas’ – especially as it is situated only a few feet away from the entrance to a pizza takeaway, whose owners had no idea it was being built.
To add insult to injury, locals have even claimed that the structure has actually made their mobile signal worse.
The construction of a 40ft ‘monstrosity’ mobile phone mast in the middle of a busy pavement has caused fury in Marske-by-the-Sea, North Yorkshire
Residents say the structure is ‘absurd’ and ‘bananas’ – especially as it is situated only a few feet away from the entrance to a pizza takeaway, whose owners had no idea it was being built
To add insult to injury, locals have even claimed that the structure has actually made their mobile signal worse
Father-of-three Aki Kalkhoran, 43, lives a few yards away and was horrified to see the mast and the associated cabinets appear without warning.
Aki said: ‘It is quite unbelievable that this thing has been put up on a pavement, which also has a cycle lane, without any proper consultation or thought for people who live and work here.
‘The pizza shop is now obscured behind it and we residents must now look out at it every day.
‘There were notices placed on lamp posts to say that some work was being done by a mobile network.
‘The writing was faded to the point it could barely be seen but those who were able to read it just assumed there might be some work done under the pavement.
‘But to see this thing suddenly appear was horrifying. It is close to a school and for those of us with young children it is quite worrying because we don’t yet know whether these things are harmful.
‘It should be removed and placed somewhere far from homes and businesses, I find it extraordinary that this was allowed to happen.
‘The really ironic thing is that since they put it up I can’t get a proper signal on my phone. The explanation I’ve been given is that I’m too close to the mast to get the supposed benefits of its signal, so I lose out twice.’
Local resident Dave Townie, 70, (left) said: ‘There is a lot of history to this area. The mast has been erected close to St Germain’s churchyard, which is where the father of the explorer Captain Cook was buried in 1779, a few weeks after his son’s death.
Independent councillor for the area, Dr Tristan Learoyd, has blamed Red and Cleveland Council for waving through the proposal for the structure from mobile provider Three
Independent councillor for the area, Dr Tristan Learoyd, blames Red and Cleveland Council for waving through the proposal from Three.
He said: ‘There is something very wrong with a planning system whichallows this to happen and unfortunately the reason for that is that it’s been done on the cheap.
‘There are areas of unused grassland close by which it could have goneonto, but that would have involved paying the landowner and theydidn’t want to do that so they stuck it in the middle of the pavement, it’s absurd.
‘One of the local people was so angry when she discovered what washappening that she parked her car over the mast site and left it there.
‘This held it up for quite a while because it meant they over-ran the permitted time they had in which to install it.
‘However once she took the car away they returned by stealth and it was erected on August 14 to the dismay of many people.
‘What is really bananas is how close it has been placed to Soprano’s pizza takeaway and those guys had no idea it was happening. Theirpremises is now obscured behind it.
‘The mast is huge and it’s in the middle of a pavement which hasaccess on one side for pedestrians and on the other there is a cyclelane and it manages to create a hazard that both now have tonegotiate.’
Across the road at Marske Cricket Club, there is a similar response.
Three said the spot was chosen as the best location for local connectivity and a shorter pole had been used to reduce the visual impact
Treasurer Cyril Hunt, 77, said: ‘No one here has any recollection ofthem getting in touch with us to consult about putting it there and it’s an absolute eyesore.
‘This is a pleasant place with a nice club that people enjoy coming toand now we all have to look out at that thing towering over the whole place.
‘And to put it right in front of a local business is appalling, it was inconsiderate and should never have happened.’
Groundsman John Magor added: ‘There are already two huge masts in the neighbouring village of New Marske. How many do we need here?
‘I don’t understand why Marske has been chosen as the place for these massive ugly things to be thrown up in the middle of communities.’
His son Lee Magor, 46, said: ‘It’s a monstrosity and has ruined the look of an area of a very nice village by the sea.
‘It is no wonder people were angry about it as it seemed to happen out of the blue, it caught everyone by surprise.’
Fellow local resident Dave Townie, 70, said: ‘There is a lot of history to this area. The mast has been erected close to St Germain’s churchyard, which is where the father of the explorer Captain Cook was buried in 1779, a few weeks after his son’s death.
‘When the workmen turned up everyone thought they were just working on the road, no one knew what was coming until suddenly it was just there, right in the middle of the pavement.’
5G infrastructure is classified as ‘permitted development’, meaning planning approval is not required from councils, although consultation with the local community is still required
The network says letters were sent to takeaways, the cricket club and local residents but no replies were received
Three said the spot was chosen as the best location for local connectivity and a shorter pole had been used to reduce the visual impact.
5G infrastructure is classified as ‘permitted development’, meaning planning approval is not required from councils, although consultation with the local community is still required.
The network says letters were sent to takeaways, the cricket club and local residents but no replies were received.
A Three spokeswoman said: ‘5G rollout is vital for residents and businesses of Marske.
‘We want to offer the community a reliable network experience and this new site will be critical to making that happen.
‘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.’
A spokesperson for Redcar and Cleveland Council, said: ‘The Council can confirm that an application to erect a phone mast in Marske was received and a consultation with neighbouring residents and businesses took place and public notices were erected.
‘Only one objection was received which was not based on location but other concerns about phone masts.’
