Herne Bay Matters
at Thornhurst In Churchill Avenue Beltinge, after neighbours complained it was an eyesore which Interfered with their TV pictures
A radio enthusiast has been refused permission to keep a 30ft mast in his garden by Canterbury City Council’s planning committee. In August the Gazette reported that 73-year-old Armando Martins had been forced to submit a retrospective application to the council for the mast at the Thornhurst sheltered housing complex in Beltinge. It followed a two-year battle with other residents at the complex who said the mast was an eyesore, caused interference with their television sets and had sparked health concerns. East Kent Housing, which runs the site, had told Mr Martins that he would need to get planning permission if he wished to keep the outdoor mast. Mr Martins always denied it could cause any health problems, and the regulator Ofcom found no evidence of the radio mast causing interference. But at a planning committee meeting on Tuesday night, councillors refused permission for the mast to stay, on the grounds that it was “overbearing” and “harmful to the visual amenity” of the area.
Herne Bay Gazette, December 11th 2014
