Glasgow residents hit out at 'eyesore' 5G mast 'towering' over homes

The furious Maryhill locals claim that the pole - believed to be around 12 metres in height - was put up without any public consultation. 

They have described the receiver as an "eyesore" that has been put up in their "back gardens" while they called on the device to be relocated.

Resident Rhonda Wharmby said: "It has basically appeared from nowhere without any notification and it is particularly close to the nearby houses.

“We didn’t even get the chance to dispute it, when it is more or less in our back gardens. 

"You can’t help but look at it if you’re in the area, it is huge.. You certainly can’t miss it, anyway. In fact, you could probably see it from the other side of Maryhill and hear it, too."

Homeowners in the area fear that the mast may have a detrimental effect on house prices due to its size. 

Rhonda added: "I wouldn't want to buy a home if a mast that size was my view from my living room window. 

"We are in complete disbelief with it all and we are really annoyed the operator has just gone straight ahead and planted it there without thought for the nearby residents.

"Really, given its size, it needs to be moved somewhere non-residential."

And community campaigner, Alex O'Kane, told how he has been inundated with complaints from locals over the lack of consultation and a "buzzing noise" that is stemming from the pole.

He said: "About a dozen local people have contacted me and they all say they received no consultation or notice whatsoever. They say the mast was literally deployed in a day. 

"They are genuinely concerned about any long-term health issues that could impact their families and local children. 

"Some residents say the mast makes a buzzing noise which concerns them giving how close it is to houses. 

"Other residents, who are homeowners, are also concerned about the mast devaluating their properties, as they said they wouldn’t want to buy a house next to one of these."

He added: "Some of these residents have lived at this location for decades, now they have a giant mast towering over their homes. 

"The question I would put to the company and to Glasgow City Council officials who okayed the location of deployment of this mast is - would you want one of these masts deployed outside your home?"

Meanwhile, those who are concerned about the health implications of the mast have approached local MSP Bob Dorris.

He noted that only three neighbours were contacted by Three - who is the operator - over its installation. 

He said: “I was contacted by a constituent who had two concerns. They wanted reassurances over the health impact of 5G masts. 

"Available advice from Public Health England who take the lead on such matters across the UK offers such reassurances and this has also been endorsed by Scotland’s Chief Medical Officer. 

"However, the second concern is of lack of notification. Having had a further look at the planning application I can see that only three neighbours were notified. 

"It is understandable a resident would be upset to effectively have a mast appear without notice at the end of their garden. 

"I will contact Three Mobile to urge them to improve their neighbour notification in future as well as urging them to engage further with my constituent.”

A Three spokesperson said: “Ultrafast 5G connectivity will bring vital benefits to residents and businesses in Glasgow. We want to offer the community a reliable mobile network experience and a combination of new masts with upgrades to existing sites will be critical to making this happen.

“We try to keep masts as small and unobtrusive as possible. However, they do need to be situated where people will be using the service and, in precise locations to ensure the widest breadth of coverage.

"We carry out extensive searches and surveys to evaluate all the options. We then choose the option most likely to gain planning approval from the local council. This will include showing we have minimised the impact on residents and the locality.

“We are aware that there have been some concerns raised by those objecting to the mast, however, from a health and safety perspective, 5G deployment is no different to any other mobile technology.

"All generations of mobile technology used by Three comply with guidelines to ensure that no harmful levels of radiation are emitted.

"As a responsible company, we take our obligation to run a safe network very seriously and actively work to ensure that our network remains compliant with international guidelines.”