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Phone-mast rules are 'a disgrace'(Leicester Mercury Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)A city MP has urged the Government to reconsider its rules on mobile phone masts. Leicester South Labour MP Sir Peter Soulsby spoke out after a Government inspector backed phone firm O2's bid to put six antennae on Elizabeth House, in Leicester, which already has 16. The city council refused planning permission last summer, due to concerns about a cumulative health risk for residents. O2 won permission on appeal after the inspector ruled that "the planning system is not the place for determining health safeguards". Sir Peter said: "It's an absolute disgrace - I bet the inspector doesn't have to live with a jumble of electrical equipment over his flat. "I think there's a case for a dramatic change in the law, to switch the balance of power away from the phone companies and towards local councils." He said that, although they were essential, masts could sited be away from residential buildings. |