BATTLELINES are being drawn after a mobile phone company revealed controversial plans to erect 13 new mobile phone masts throughout south Farnham. The plans by mobile phone giant, Orange, are to put masts up in Compton, Bourne, Lower Bourne, Shortheath and Boundstone. Orange will announce the exact locations of the masts at a public meeting on April 26 but they have provided the Farnham Herald with details of the main sites. Mobile phone masts will be positioned on Waverley Lane, Tilford Road, Sandrock Hill and Boundstone Road. A mast will also be located close to Bourne School on Frensham Road at a site near to the Toyota garage. The last time a mobile phone company tried to get permission for the Frensham Road site it provoked a storm of protests from Bourne School parents and local residents. The positioning of mobile phone masts has caused controversy across the country with fears about their health effects leading to protest groups fighting plans to put them close to schools, hospitals and residential areas. Karin Cooper, headteacher of Bourne School said: "This is the first we have heard about these new plans. There was a very strong reaction from parents last time this happened and I would expect a similar response this time. "The parents felt that until there is proper evidence to show that these masts do not pose any threat to the children's health then they should not be anywhere near a school." Parents at the school organised petitions and lobbied the council and the application to Waverley Borough Council by O2 was refused. Orange said the masts are designed to minimise visual impact and will resemble street furniture designs, such as lamp-posts and telegraph poles. A spokeswoman for Orange said: "We have been looking for sites in this area for more than eight years now, as there is a clear problem for mobile phone users in the area. "Outdoor coverage is patchy, and there is virtually no in-building coverage in many places. "People want to be able to use their phones indoors and the geography of Farnham means that our existing masts do not reach these areas. "It is also forgotten in all the discussions about masts that not a single mobile phone call can be made without a network of masts near at hand. They have a very short range, in this case little more than a couple of hundred yards, and so need to be very close to a caller in order to work." Orange said that depending on the design, it can legally they put up phone masts below eight metres in height without having to go through the usual planning process. It has the option to use a licence notification which just informs the local authority of where the masts are going to be positioned. Shortheath and Boundstone councillor Susan Farrow said: "This is going to cause alarm for a lot of people. "The research on the potential health risks of the masts is ongoing and until there is proof that they are safe it's obviously going to cause concern in residential areas and especially near to schools. "We all use mobile phones and understand there is a need for a certain number of masts but only if there is no chance of people's health being affected." Bourne town councillor Peter Burden said: "The number of mobile phone masts they are applying for does sound excessive but until we find out more details it's difficult to say." The Bourne Residents' Association is waiting to find out more details about the plans before deciding on a response. In January, UK scientists warned that young people are at greatest risk from mobile phones, and recommended that children under eight should not use them. The UK's national radiological protection board has also recommended further research on mobile phone masts. A spokeswoman for Waverley Council said: "We are aware of the consultation process which is in accordance with government advice. "Once they have concluded the consultation exercises we would expect them to formally notify us about the works which they intend to carry out. We would have to carefully consider that notification." Orange will be holding a consultation session at The Bush Hotel, The Borough, Farnham on April 26. Orange representatives will be available from 2 pm to 8 pm.
