This Is Guernsey

By Nigel Baudains

TORTEVAL residents are gearing up to fight a proposal to erect a mobile phone mast near their homes. Parishioners in the Rue du Planel area were celebrating last week when a landowner withdrew his permission for Guernsey Airtel and Wave Telecom’s application to build the 56ft high structure.

But offers for the land have been invited in an advert in the Guernsey Press and neighbours say they will continue to fight against the plan.

‘It doesn’t mean that whoever buys the land will automatically get permission to put a mast on it,’ said neighbour and vice dean of the douzaine Lloyd Brehaut.

‘But as soon as the advert appeared the reaction was instantaneous and all the neighbours were speaking to each other.’

The douzaine was still to discuss it formally but early indications were that it would object in the same way it had done to a similar application last year for a mast at Rue des Simons.

Guernsey Airtel chief executive officer David Watson said his company would not be making an offer to buy.

‘We’re not in the business of buying land and we will not be doing it,’ he said.

The Environment Depart-ment confirmed the planning application for the mast was still active.

The land owner, who asked not to be named, said he had written to Guernsey Airtel and the department to tell them he was no longer supporting the application and that the land would be offered for sale.

‘How they’ve dealt with it from there is up to them,’ he said. ‘But it’s a free market and it would be up to whoever might buy it whether the application goes any further.’

Interest in the field had been shown, he said, and the advert was due to run again.

Mr Brehaut said one had to question why people selling land chose to do it with only a post office box number for reference.

Nicholas and Gillie Drake, whose home in Rue du Planel backs on to the field in question, said the neighbours would not get drawn into a Dutch auction over the land purchase.

‘Collective purchase is very complicated and we could be taking on a major player,’ he said.

‘But we will be putting together a consolidated programme of action so the buyer knows that there will be strong objections to applications for any masts in an agricultural field.’

Mr Drake was concerned that people might not have sent objections to the Environment Department after the landowner withdrew his permission and he is urging them to get them in as soon as possible.