Phone mast for church?

A PUBLIC meeting will be held in Fairwarp next month to give villagers their chance to discuss plans for a mobile phone mast on the top of Christ Church.

The meeting, at Fairwarp Village Hall, will allow people to give their views on the flagpole-style antenna which mobile phone giant Orange have proposed to install on the chuch tower.

A notice in this month's Fairwarp Echo from Christ Church Parochial Church Council said: 'No decision has yet been made but so that everybody can be as well informed as possible, an open meeting has been arranged for all residents of the village to attend.

'There will be representatives from our parish, district and county councils and, it is hoped, from the mobile phone company, to inform us of the implications of having such an installation.

'This is an opportunity for everybody who wishes to let us know their views on the subject before a decision is made as to whether to proceed with this project.'

A spokesman for Orange's agents said local people's concerns would be taken into account. David Jai-Persad, of Quintel, said: 'Normally, if the local community are dead against it, they will take notice of that. We always take local people's concerns into account and we will try and answer those concerns to the best of our ability.'

He added: 'We are not in the business of doing anything unsafe. Our installations are always well below guidelines. There shouldn't be any concerns to health.'

The meeting will be held on Friday October 4, at 7.45pm.