The latest correspondence from the Harlequin Group to the Mast Action Group:
At present Cornerstone are going through the change process to look at nominating an alternative option, however this will take some time. As soon as I have some further information I will advise the action group and the Parish Council, however in the meantime no further action will be taken in respect of the originally proposed option.
Kind regards
Carolyn
Carolyn Wilson MRTPI
Head of Town Planning
The Harlequin Group
Latest mast update:
1. Letter sent to Caroline Wilson at the Harlequin Group on behalf of the Great Gidding Action Group.
2. Questions put forward at the Parish Council meeting on 20.8.19 and also sent to Caroline Wilson at the Harlequin Group on behalf of the Great Gidding Action Group.
3. Leaflet produced by the Action Group sent out to all residences in Great Gidding
The latest letter from the Parish Council to Carolyn Wilson at Harlequin. Keep checking the website.
Please find attached the latest letter that I have sent to Harlequin regarding our engagement with them and the alternative options we have suggested.
Nicholas Hill, Chairman, Great and Little Gidding Parish Council.
I have received a response from Carolyn Wilson at Harlequin to the Parish Council’s Objection to the O2 Base Station and Mast proposal. We fully intend to engage with Harlequin and Cornerstone over the coming weeks to offer less intrusive options for the siting of the mast. As the situation evolves we will ensure that the Community is kept fully informed.
“ Thank you for the attached objection on behalf of the Parish Council, the points are noted and have been sent Cornerstone for their consideration. I understand the concern regarding the timing of our consultation at the start of the school summer break, however the operators are unable to put their project on hold for a 6/7 week period to accommodate this, we did try to get our consultation letters issued before the school broke up and have received an objection from the School Governors, which has also been passed to Cornerstone along with those individual objections received from residents to date.
I note the Parish Council’s desire to engage with us and Cornerstone to try to find a more suitable location for the mast and this offer is appreciated and I shall be recommending this offer is accepted and the alternative options are reconsidered. Of the alternative options listed in our letter would the Parish Council consider any of these locations suitable and we could reassess them, or would you have any other suggested locations we could look at?
I look forward to your response on behalf of the Parish Council at your earliest convenience.”
Nick Hill
Chairman
Great & Little Gidding Parish Council
Please be aware that the Parish Council received notification on 18 July 2019 of a proposal for the potential siting of a Mobile Communications Mast and Base Station situated in the grass verge on Highways land close to the Old Chapel and close to the School.
This is part of a pre-planning process where the Harlequin Group are acting as agents for Cornerstone and Telefonica and have offered the Parish Council the opportunity to comment on the proposal. The Parish Council have responded on 31 July and a copy of our response is available to view by downloading the file ‘Harlequin-31-Jul-19‘. We acknowledge that there is an ever increasing requirement for better communications, but our considered response aims to get Harlequin and the Communications companies to engage with us so that we can collectively achieve a better environmental solution for the siting of this mast and equipment.
Obviously all of our residents are free to lodge an objection or opinion if they so wish and this can be achieved by replying directly to Carolyn Wilson at the Harlequin Group email: c.wilson@harlequin-group.com or make your opinions known through our Parish Council email account GGparishcouncil@outlook.com. We anticipate this pre-planning process may take some time, possibly even several months or longer, but we will ensure that all Great Gidding residents are kept fully informed as this issue evolves.
Nick Hill, Chairman, Great and Little Gidding Parish Council