A GROUP of residents of the Park Mills estate in Chorley are furious that they were not informed about a new mobile phone mast.

The mast, which is 15m tall, was installed by mobile telecommunications company One2One in May and almost 100 concerned homeowners have signed a petition in opposition.

Mr Jack Laffan, a resident of Collingwood Road, wrote an angry letter about the mast to The Citizen.

He said that since July 1999, planning authorities are required to give 42 days notice for masts, to allow time for residents to register any objections.

However, he said, the council failed to inform residents and the mast went ahead anyway.

"We feel strongly that Chorley Borough Council Planning Department have reneged in their responsibility to the community by not informing them of the application", he said.

He went on voice concerns on behalf of other residents, such as the effects of possible radiation due to the close proximity of an elderly rest home, the effect on the value of properties, and interference with household electrical equipment.

He said further fears about the safety of masts were raised recently when a national broadsheet newspaper reported that an EU directive had been introduced stating masts should not be sited within 1km of a school. There is a primary school less than 300 metres away.

After the petition was sent to the council, planning officer Alison Wood wrote to the residents explaining that planning permission wasn't needed for the mast and all the council could do was to consider the location and appearance of the mast and try to minimise its appearance.

She wrote: "In this case, One2One agreed to amend the location of the pole so that it is next to the chimney stack.

"This was considered a less prominent location than the original siting halfway between the houses on Oakwood Road and the chimney stack."

Mike Gee, manager of development control for the planning department, said: "We do appreciate residents' concerns about the dangers and we have asked One2One to reassure us about the safety of the mast."

He added that it was not the council's responsibility to give notice to the public but the responsibility of One2One.

Barry Turner-Smith, community relations officer for One2One, confirmed it was their responsibility to inform people.

He said: "I am positive we will have put a sign up for residents to see.

"Unless someone came along and ripped it off I see no reason why residents weren't aware of the plans."

He also dismissed concerns about placing masts near schools.

Referring to the recent Stewart report he said: "There is no evidence from the report that masts are a danger as long as the main beam is not in the line of fire of a school.

"There is no EU directive about being within 1km of a school as far as I am concerned."