Date Published: Thursday 01 April
2004
Orange bill is bitter pill for
city
Financial chiefs in Winchester are being made to swallow a
bitter pill over Orange's controversial plans for a phone mast on
Byron Avenue.
Winchester City Council have revealed their legal bill for
appealing against the Government's decision to uphold the
telecommunications giant's appeal, has reached more than
£150,000.
The
news is unlikely to please residents of the Winchester area, not
only because of the cost, but because civic bosses are also warning
the prohibitive costs involved in challenging big business and
losing, may limit future stances against unwanted
applications.
Leading
mast campaigner, Karen Barratt, said: "I find the whole situation
quite frightening. If this ruling means councils won't be willing to
take on big business when they or the community think the
businesses' plans are wrong, then it is a worrying
decision."
Mrs
Barratt added that the campaign group itself had already spent in
excess of £20,000 ensuring they were represented at the appeal
hearing in London.
The
saga began when Orange submitted plans in January, 2001, for a
mobile phone mast on land at Byron Avenue, just metres from Western
Primary School.
Residents then formed a campaign group in a bid to stop the
build amid fears about the effects the masts might have on health -
particularly for schoolchildren.
Planning chiefs at the council then refused the application,
sparking an appeal to the secretary of state by Orange over the
reason behind the rejection. That appeal was upheld by the
Government in August last year.
It left
the council with a legal bill of £74,132 which was further
compounded when an award for costs against the authority was also
handed out to the tune of £78,194 - giving a total bill for refusing
Orange's plans of £152,326.
At
Wednesday's meeting of Winchester City cabinet, those in charge of
the authority's finances said the bill would be met by various
means, including leftovers from some of last year's budgets and
money from the planning grants reserves fund. They also said they
hoped the sum would eventually be reduced following
negotiations.
But the
members also warned the effects of the settlement may influence
future decisions. Thérèse Evans, deputy leader of the council, said:
"We were right not to go further with this appeal because of the
amount it would have cost us.
"It's
an expensive lesson to learn, but we did it for the right reason, in
supporting local residents and their concerns. However, it is a
lesson that may stop us appealing against future decisions because
of the prohibitive costs."
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