The private member's bill brought by Conservative MP David Curry, that would bring relief to people whose quality of life is threatened by proposed mobile telephone masts, was effectively killed by the Labour Government today. David Curry's bill proposed measures that would hand back the emphasis of planning grants to local councils regarding the location of telephone masts.
Currently, telephone masts enjoy an advantage in planning law that is more usually used for essential utilities, and that was granted to telephone mast applications back when mobile 'phones were a new invention.
But, whilst a brand new technology in 1983 needed help from legislation to unroll the brand new networks, in 2006, when the density of telephone masts is to be tripled, local residents are angry that they are denied a say in the location of masts.
In 2005, Mark Garnier, Conservative Parliamentary Spokesman for Wyre Forest, raised a 1,000 name petition to have the law changed to return the final say to district councils. The result of that, and other petitions was the initiative by David Curry to change the law.
At the second reading of the bill, on the 3rd March, it was postponed due to the previous bill that day taking too much Parliamentary time. Curry's bill was delayed to Friday 10th of March, but it failed to be tabled at all, having slipped down the list. The bill is now effectively dead, and it has suffered from a tactic used by the government known as 'talking out' or 'filibustering'. This tactic essentially employs long and pointless speeches by government ministers to ensure the bill runs out of parliamentary time.
Mark Garnier said: "I am deeply disappointed by this outcome, but not at all surprised. The fact is this Government has repeatedly denied the people of Wyre Forest and the country as whole any say in the blight of telephone masts. Tony Blair was asked at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday why his Government was blocking this bill, and he merely said that he would look into it. Translating his comments into more normal speak, he is simply saying he couldn't care less about people's concerns.
"I am very grateful indeed to David Curry for his trouble in pursuing this bill on behalf of Wyre Forest residents. It was a bill that was unanimously popular amongst political parties in Wyre Forest, although I am disappointed that our own MP, Dr Richard Taylor, informed me some time ago that he would not be supporting David Curry's initiative due to other commitments. However, I will make this promise now that I will continue to press for this law change; I will work with my Conservative colleagues in Westminster to find another champion for Wyre Forest; and if it comes to pass that I have the opportunity to do so myself, I will bring the private members bill personally on behalf of all those residents of Wyre Forest whose lives are blighted by phone masts."