QUARRY Bank councillors and residents are fuming after a mobile phone mast was put up on a High Street building without public consultation.

The mast has gone up on the town’s Conservative Club in the High Street, much to the annoyance of cllrs Bryan Cotterill and David Sparks and those living and working nearby.

Mobile phone company Hutchison 3G UK originally contacted Dudley Council a few years ago about the installation, but following government guidelines introduced in 1995 - planning permission was not required.

However - cllr Cotterill says members of the public should at least have been informed about the siting of the mast, which is being used to boost network coverage for 3G and T-Mobile phone users.

The concerned cllr told the News: “Because of the sensitivity of this - we feel we should have at least been notified.

“There’s no proof about the health risks either way, but given that people are very wary about these masts, they should not be put where there’s a mass of people or where people are living.”

A spokesman for Dudley Council said: "Under the general permitted development order 1995, the government gave wide-ranging permissions for development structures or uses.

"The notification of this phone mast complies with the requirements of this document."

A spokesman for Hutchison 3G UK said: "The base station notification was submitted to the local planning authority by Hutchison 3G UK some time ago with an intention of building it in the future.

“Subsequent to this, the networks of H3G and T-Mobile are being consolidated into 'one network' and the local planning authority would have been informed of this in a statement forming part of the Operators Annual Roll out plans submitted in October 2008.

“There is a need, by the general public, for 3G mobile phone coverage in the area and the site is meeting these needs."