5G planning application on Rye Road

An application has been submitted to Hastings Borough Council for an ’18 metre 5G phase 8 monopole combined with wraparound cabinet at the base, additional ancillary equipment cabinets and associated ancillary works on the grass verge fronting 29 Rye Road, Hastings’ by Winchelsea Road and Montgomery Road, just north of the car wash. HOT’s Zelly Restorick asks you to consider objecting to the application and offers some advice from 5G Free Hastings.

The Secretary of State is to be challenged on the failure to provide adequate or effective information to the public about the risks of 5G and how, if it be possible, it might be possible for individuals to avoid or minimise risks, reports Action Against 5G. Also, the failure to provide adequate and sufficient reasons for not establishing a process to investigate and establish the adverse health effects and risks of adverse health effects from 5G technology — and/or for discounting the risks presented by the evidence available and/or failure to meet the requirements of transparency and openness required of a public body. For more in depth information, check out Action Against 5G.

These grounds advance a breach of the Human Rights Act 1998 by commissions and failings in violation of the positive obligations to protect human life, health and dignity.

5G Free Hastings is a local independent group committed to raising awareness and taking action around the health, environmental and privacy issues to do with the 5G rollout, smart technology and the Internet of Things (as well as microwave radiation in general). Their intention is to be part of the global movement to halt the 5G rollout, and to campaign at a local level to keep Hastings 5G free.

How to object to the Rye Road mast: please select a few points from the ones listed below to include in your objection. Use your own words if you can. If you’re short on time, even a very brief one-sentence objection is more preferable than no objection, advises 5G Free Hastings.

POINTS YOU CAN RAISE:

Siting/appearance:

The proposed monopole (mast) is 18 metres high, almost twice the height of the nearby street lights and over twice the height of the nearest tree (and three times the height of the other trees). None of these screen the monopole from view.

The monopole is unsightly, visually obtrusive, and out of keeping with the character and amenity of the surrounding area. The houses on the same side of the road are situated at a lower elevation than the monopole, making it even more over-dominant and out of proportion. It is also very close to these houses.

The monopole will create a harmful impact to the outlook of the properties across the road and will be visible from some distance away, leading to visual clutter and affecting people’s quiet enjoyment of the neighbourhood.

The monopole is contrary to policies DM1 and DM2(a) of Hastings’ own Development Management Plan: DM1 states for instance that “protecting and enhancing local character” should be taken into account and there there should be “an assessment of visual impact, including the height, scale and form of development that should be appropriate to the location”.

DM2(a) states that “the siting and appearance of the proposed apparatus and associated structures should seek to minimise impact on the visual amenity, character or appearance of the surrounding area”.

Health

Until now, councils won’t turn down masts on health grounds, because government guidance tells them not to. However, campaigners across the country have provided councils with legitimate ways to go against government guidance:

(a) Mendip Planning Committee: Councillors at a recent 2022 planning committee meeting decided that a threshold of evidence around Radio Frequency Radiation (RFR) and health had been reached that was sufficient to supersede government guidelines, and therefore voted to refuse a mast application on health grounds.

(b) Fishersgate Mast Application in Brighton: In autumn 2021, this mast application was quashed at Judicial Review — and Brighton & Hove City Council had to pay costs of £13k because they “failed to address the health impacts of this particular proposal and to obtain adequate evidence of the assessment of the proximity to the school . . .”. The Fishersgate situation was similar to the application being discussed here, as the proposal was for a mast adjacent to a school (although there was no existing mast in place already). Councils in similar situations to Brighton & Hove City Council are therefore at risk of being the subject of further Judicial Reviews, and if they lose, having to pay costs.

You may also want to mention: 

a) The crucial findings of the New Hampshire Commission: this commission on 5G technology was formed through legislation by the state of New Hampshire to include 13 experts. In their 2021 Final Report, they state that wireless telecommunication antennas should be placed at least 500m from residents parks, playgrounds, hospitals, nursing homes, day care centres and schools. Their report can be found here. The findings of the report are evidence-based and therefore globally applicable

(b) The recent report by Lopez et al. which found a statistically significant increase in headaches and headache intensity, nightmares, dizziness, motor stability, tachycardia and insomnia. The research also found the cancer rate to be 5.6%, 10 times higher than for the total Spanish population. Report found here.

(c) Hardell et al. (2022): Microwave radiation from base stations on rooftops gave medical symptoms consistent with the microwave syndrome. The first ever study of the health effects of 5G radiation on human beings shows that 5G causes typical symptoms of microwave syndrome as well as a massive increase in microwave radiation. The case study also confirms again that radiation well below levels allowed by the authorities causes ill health. Report found here.

Schools:

There are two schools well within 500m of this mast: Ore Village Primary Academy, which according to the applicant’s notes, is 196metres away and Hastings Academy, which is 309 metres away. As above, the New Hampshire Commission recommends that masts are not place within 500 metres of schools. The science shows that children are even more vulnerable to microwave radiation than adults.

Environment

There are green spaces to the east and west of the mast and of course, plenty of gardens in the vicinity. This mast application conflicts with Hastings Borough Council’s sustainable objectives, since each 5G mast requires approx 3x more power than a 4G mast — and many more 5G masts will be needed for the 5G rollout.

The ICNIRP (International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection) certificate, which councils rely upon when assessing planning applications, does not cover the environment — only human health.

See report: EHTrust.org: Study: 5G causes Microwave Syndrome — published by the Environmental Health Trust, carried out by oncologist and researcher Lennart Hardell from the Research Foundation for Environment and Cancer, and Mona Nilsson from Radiation Protection Foundation, proving that 5G causes microwave syndrome.  The link is at the end of par (c) above.

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