A double blow for mobile phone giant; Two separate bids thrown out by planners.

Byline: Dave Black 

AMOBILE phone giant has been dealt a double blow by planners in Northumberland - after separate bids to erect new phone masts close to a historic treasure and a popular school were both thrown out.

Telefonica 02 UK was yesterday considering its next moves after county councillors refused to grant permission for the towers - one close to Hadrian's Wall and the other just yards from a 450-pupil school on the exclusive Darras Hall housing estate in Ponteland.

The 27.5m-high lattice mast planned for Heddon-on-the-Wall - 800 metres north of the Roman Wall and within the official setting of the World Heritage Site - was recommended for approval by county planning officers. English Heritage raised no objection, but local parish councillors claimed it was 'inconceivable' and 'completely unacceptable' to build the mast so close to the Wall.

Now members of the county council's west area planning committee have gone against officer advice and voted to reject O2's application, after visiting the site to assess the situation for themselves. The committee also refused permission for the 12.5m-high mast proposed for a grassed area next to Darras Hall First School, because of concerns it will be a 'conspicuous and alien' structure in the street scene.

The Darras Hall proposal sparked objections from 18 local residents, Ponteland Town Council and the town's civic society.

They all voiced fears about the potential health effects of electromagnetic radiation on young pupils at the school, as well as the visual impact of the mast.

English Heritage said although the Heddon mast would be visible from aspects of the Wall, its impact would be minor and insufficient to justify an objection.

Yesterday planning committee chairman, Coun Ian Hutchinson, said: "English Heritage raised no objections to the proposed mast in Heddon, so we could not really use its proximity to Hadrian's Wall as a reason for refusal. However, we feel the applicants have not done enough to look for alternative, less obtrusive sites in the area." Ian Armstrong, deputy chairman of Heddon Parish Council, said: "We are very pleased at the decision. We are constantly aware that there are many restrictions placed on developments here because of the presence of the Wall, and a proliferation of mobile phone masts should be no different." It is the third time in two years that councillors have rejected applications for a phone mast close to the Roman Wall, following previous bids by O2 and T Mobile.

02 argued that both the Heddon and Darras Hall masts are needed to fill a gap in local mobile phone coverage. It claimed that only a site within the setting of Hadrian's Wall and the green belt will provide the necessary coverage..