Mobile phone/emergency services transmitters

Policy note

Original policy decision3

Decision to withdraw the policy3

Adopting best practice3

Appendices4

Telecommunciation operators ten commitments4

Original policy decision

  1. The original decision to adopt a 400m exclusion rule to limit the installation of transmitters on Cornwall Council owned land was made in 2001 by the Council’s risk management group. The minutes record that; “the Council’s working party recommendation is to continue with the present policy of prudent avoidance (a ban on the siting of new masts either at school sites or council owned land within 400m of a school) for at least a further three to four years to allow for further research”.
  2. The Stewart Report (published in 2000) had raised some uncertainty about the effect on health from mobile phones and the transmitters that make up the cellular network and made recommendations for further researchinto possible ill health effects from mobile phone technology. A programme of research was established and managed by the Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research (MTHR) committee, chaired by the Head of the Health Protection Agency.

Decision to withdraw the policy

  1. In September 2007, the report from the research programme commissioned by the MTHR committee concluded that; “the six year research programme has found no association between short term mobile phone use and brain cancer. Studies on volunteers also showed no evidence that brain function was affected by mobile phone signals or the signals used by the emergency services (TETRA). The MTHR programme management committee believes there is no need to support further work in this area.”
  2. In March 2009, a position statement on mobile phone masts was taken to the Council’s heath, safety and security group (formerly the risk management group) recommending that the original policy decision be reversed in light of the MTHR report. The recommendation was adopted in full. For the avoidance of doubt, the decision to withdraw the policy decision includes transmitters such as TETRA used by the emergency services.

Adopting best practice

  1. Part of the recommendation is to make it a pre condition to any agreement with a mobile phone operator wishing to place a transmitter on council owned land that the operator follows the telecommunication operators’ ten commitments (drawn up with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in 2001). The commitments place emphasis on public and local authority consultation and communication and are set out in full in appendix a.

Appendix A

Telecommunication operators’ ten commitments (taken from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister’s code of best practice on mobile phone network development 2002)

The ten commitments are to:
  • Develop, with other stakeholders, clear standards and procedures to deliver significantly improved consultation with local communities
  • Participate in obligatory pre rollout and pre application consultation with local planning authorities
  • Publish clear, transparent and accountable criteria and cross industry agreement on site sharing, against which progress will be published regularly
  • Establish professional development workshops on technological developments within telecommunications for local authority officers and elected members
  • Deliver, with the government, a database of information available to the public on radio base stations
  • Assess all radio base stations for international (ICNIRP) compliance for public exposure and produce a programme for ICNIRP compliance for all radio base stations as recommended by the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones
  • Provide, as part of planning applications for radio base stations, a certification of compliance with ICNIRP public exposure guidelines
  • Provide specific staff resources to respond to complaints and enquiries about base stations, within ten working days
  • Begin financially supporting the government’s independent scientific research programme on mobile communications health issues
  • Develop standard supporting documentation for all planning submissions whether full planning or prior approval

Prepared by:

Chris Jackson

Policy and Training Manager

Property Services

14 June 2011

If you would like this information
in another format please contact:

Cornwall Council
County Hall
Treyew Road
Truro TR1 3AY

Telephone: 0300 1234 100

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Mobile phone/emergency services transmittersPolicy note1

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