A DECISION whether to allow more than 50 mobile phone masts to be built will rest with just four people. Environment minister David De Lisle said yesterday that its board would be the judge on the Guernsey Airtel applications.

‘When applications are sensitive they come to the board and I made it clear from the start that I wanted these to do that,’ he said.

Deputies De Lisle, Ivan Rihoy, Janine Le Sauvage, Chris Brock and Mary Lowe make up the board, but Deputy Lowe has excluded herself from the process.

She has already stated her opposition to the applications so Deputy De Lisle said she felt she was no longer impartial.

‘It’s very difficult for board members to discuss individual cases because they sit in quasi-judicial positions and therefore have to remain neutral before any decisions are made.

‘To do otherwise would open the decision to challenge through the courts.’

All representations made about the applications are still being directed to planning officers, who were not being cut from the process.

Deputy De Lisle said he had attended Monday’s public meeting at the Western Parishes Community Centre because he wanted to gauge opinion, but had not contributed to the debate.

Deputy Rihoy said the applications were a result of trying to introduce competition to the telecoms market and nobody seemed to have thought about what the consequences of that might be.

‘This is competition at a price and it’s a bit like building another power station,’ he said.

‘No one wants to see a proliferation of aerials all over the island.

‘I certainly sympathise with people who are concerned about these things going up and, as a member of the Environment Department, I will be doing my best to make sure that nothing is done that will be detrimental to the places for which applications are being made.’

Environment staff have met telecoms operators to see if more masts could be shared. Deputy Rihoy said the board was waiting for a report on the outcome.

‘It’s ironic that people are saying they don’t want these extra telecoms companies when I was one of the few who fought tooth and nail against the States decision to sell Guernsey Telecoms.’

GT had made a profit of some £3m. annually, which Deputy Rihoy said could have helped to fill the black hole.

Deputy Le Sauvage said it was vital that the process was not prejudiced by people stating their opinions in public, adding that board members needed to be whiter than white.

‘The department will be looking to minimise the impact of these things, especially in areas of high landscape quality, and we’ll be encouraging mast sharing wherever possible,’ she said.