A THIRD mobile phone mast is to be put up on grain silos at Oversley Green despite objections from residents and Alcester Town Council.

The application from T Mobile, to replace the mast currently on Oversley Castle, was given the green light by Stratford District Council's west area planning committee on Thursday.

Chairman Les Topham described the site as "one of the better situations to have a mast" as it is away from populated areas.

But residents disagree and are angry that they were not consulted before the matter went to committee.

At the meeting Lynn Dencer, who lives at Summerhill House - the nearest property to the site, said: "There are three installations already in existence and there has been very little, if any, consultation about any of them. This latest one is exactly the same.

"I came home one day and on the back of the gate there was the notice of the application.

"When I wrote to Stratford (District Council) to object I got a letter back saying I could be here tonight but it was favourable and likely to go through. That's always the amount of consultation that goes into the masts.

"One of them isn't a mobile phone mast. It's Tetra which caused an enormous outcry and had a lot of opposition but we still had it foisted on us."

Town councillor Nina Knapman, an active campaigner against telecommunications masts on health grounds, described them as a "real eyesore" which are making the area "less special".

She urged councillors to exercise their "duty of care to the residents" by turning the application down.

Bidford ward member Kim James said: "Telecommunications masts always throw up several problems for the committee, but on this one we have a mast sharing opportunity reducing the number in the area.

"It is 320 metres away from the nearest residential property - when I was on the Avon committee we considered masts within 100 metres of primary schools. It's always emotive but there's more harm to putting the phone to your head than from the mast itself."