A COUNCILLOR may have given a telecommunications giant a ‘lifeline’ in its bid to erect a 60-foot mast on an Ulverston housing estate, a meeting heard.

Residents, MPs and councillors have been trying to resist Vodafone since it gained planning permission by ‘deemed consent’ for the mast to be erected within the town’s Croftlands estate.

South Lakeland District Council had refused planning permission for the mast, but failure to correctly notify Vodafone of the decision within the statutory 56 days meant the mast can now be constructed against the wishes of residents and local councillors.

Croftlands resident Nick Knibbs told Ulverston Town Council that at a recent meeting with a representative from Vodafone a compromise had been offered to site the mast further back on the grass rather than on a footpath.

“Moving it back six feet onto the grass is not really a compromise,” he told councillors.

“It’s still a big industrial-sized structure that is two thirds the size of Hoad Monument.”

Deputy mayor David Webster said the idea for the ‘compromise’ had come from a councillor.

He said a meeting had been held between councillors and Sean McHenry from Vodafone’s contractors CTIL.

“He (Mr McHenry) was adamant the mast was going on that site,” he said.

“Everybody there pointed out their dislike for the siting of this mast.

“But one councillor then gave him a lifeline by suggesting it be moved back onto the grass.

“That was never pointed out to any other councillors before the meeting and you could see his (Mr McHenry) eyes light up.

“We don’t want it there, we want it away from residential areas.

“It’s got to the point now where hopefully SLDC will keep refusing to allow them to build the mast on that land. They’ve got the planning permission but there are still people looking to see if there’s any way we can get this stopped.”

The meeting heard Barrow and Furness MP John Woodcock and SLDC leader Cllr Giles Archibald were doing their best to resist Vodafone and urge them to find somewhere else for the mast.

Councillors agreed to write to SLDC and Cumbria County Council to urge all local authorities to be ‘unified’ in their stance against the current siting of the phone mast.