09.01.2007

New application?

Anti mobile telephone mast campaigners fighting a mobile phone mast at Sheriff Hutton in North Yorkshire, claimed that it was above the 15 metres maximum height permitted by the planning permission.

Engineers from North Yorkshire County Council and Ryedale District Council measured the mast with laser devices but kept coming up with different readings, with one effort putting the mast at more than 16 metres.

In a final effort to produce a definitive measurement, it resorted to an old-fashioned tape measure, hung from an aerial lift.

One of the protesters, Linda Murphy said: "Last week Ryedale District Council came round and measured the mast with a gizmo, but apparently got a different reading every time. Today they have hired a cherry-picker to measure it with a tape measure. We suspect it might be just over 15 metres and, if it is, it shouldn't be there at all."

However, the tape measure indicated that the mast was 14.84 metres high, with an extra 70mm of antenna above that - well within the permitted limit.