Nailing colours to the mast

It is of particular interest that Tories have been criticising the position of this blogger, and fellow Labour candidates in Luton & Wayfield who are backing the community against the mast.

Tories attacking independent petitioners and those that support them should be careful.

Careful because Tories have very short memories of course - similar to the Medway Freedom Pass and Free Swimming - which they scrapped and opposed only now to be sudden converts to the policy.

Labour in Luton & Wayfield is opposed to the phone mast because of a total lack of consultation and out of concern that the community has been ignored.

Our response to a total lack of action is to base our response on the Rainham Conservatives, who supported an independent campaign to stop a phone mast in Railway Street.

If elected as candidates we will therefore:

1.Request that the Chief Executive of Medway Council writes to the applicant urging them to reconsider, for the safety of the community and nearby families with children, their decision to place a mast in Wayfield and to request a meeting with them and representatives from Medway Council to discuss the matter, with a view of having this phone mast application withdrawn

2.To seek the support of the Member of Parliament for Chatham & Aylesford, Tracey Crouch and asks that she table an early day motion to restrict the location of mobile phone masts in the vicinity of schools and densely populated residential areas.

3.To write to the government expressing the view that planning decisions are best left in the hands of local authorities who have a wide understanding of their area and not to planning inspectors who have scant knowledge of local circumstances.

4.To call on the Chairman of the Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee to put forward a member’s item looking into the possible health implications associated with phone masts.

A Tory rejection of the above will be surprising given it is Tory Policy which received full support in 2009.

Residents in Wayfield should and are concerned because whilst this policy appears to have been adopted for a phone mast with a Tory PPC in Rainham it is being ignored in Luton & Wayfield.

Perhaps a few of those Conservatives moaning about my position should take note; its based on your own!