Beauty spot mast plan is approved
A“TOWERING” phone mast will be installed at a popular Solihull beauty spot, despite warnings from residents that it would spoil protected green space.
Critics had urged the council to throw out plans to install the “monstrosity” of a transmitter at Conker Lane, in Dorridge.
More than 20 objections made by locals included concerns that the mast would loom over a well-used walking route and that there was a lack of detail about alternative locations.
But planning officers insisted detailed work had been done to find the most suitable site to improve phone coverage, which they accepted was greatly needed.
And while several councillors said they sympathised with residents’ worries, the planning committee approved the application by a majority. Jan Aykroyd,
from the Knowle, Dorridge and Bentley Heath Neighbourhood Forum, had earlier appealed to the committee to reject it.
She said the “overriding concern” was the damage the proposal would do to the surrounding area, which is designated a Local Green Space (LGS).
“It will significantly harm the appearance, character and enjoyment of the amenity,” she said.
“The full height of the installed mast is 21 metres. Towering well above all existing trees, it will be the only manmade intrusion visible within the Local Green Space.”
Planning officer Jon Hallam said: “As is always the case for all mobile phone masts there has to be a requirement for them. Otherwise why would the developers apply? They wouldn’t.”
He referred councillors to a map showing the strength of signal and a number of “green spots” locally, where coverage was only available in a car or outside.
In response to concerns about this particular location, he said there were limited choices for the telecoms companies and this area was deemed the “least worst option” which met all the criteria.
The monopole, serving Vodafone and Telefonica, would boost coverage for 2G, 3G and 4G networks.
Cllr Maggie Allen (Green, Shirley West) said while she sympathised with locals, it was almost inevitable that the applicant would win on appeal if the council refused.
“The Government is intent on rolling out all of these masts and enhancing telecommunications and, of course, during the Covid epidemic we have seen how useful all of this electrical equipment can be.”
Cllr Bob Grinsell (Con, Olton) said that while he wasn’t keen on any of the designs, a latticestyle mast at least gave a view beyond the structure.
APOLICEMAN who found the European Cup stolen from Aston Villa has died. Eddie Skeates chased the car containing the coveted silverware won by Villa in 1982 – and brought it back to Birmingham.
The 60-year-old passed away on August 22 only weeks after being diagnosed with a rare cancer.
As an officer, he made his mark. He certainly spared the blushes of Villa players who took the cup to a Tamworth pub for a “meet and greet” evening. It was swiped by a regular who scarpered to Sheffield – with Eddie hot on his tail.
Wife Jayne told the Post: “One night, he just said he’d rescued the European Cup. I thought he was joking, then it came on the news.
“Eddie and his mate had chased a car to Sheffield and brought it back.”
The trophy, earned by Villa with a famous 1-0 victory over Bayern Munich in Rotterdam, went missing from the Fox Inn in ‘82. In 2012, our sister paper, the Birmingham Mail, unmasked the individual responsible – prankster Adrian Reed. He had died some years earlier in a car crash.
Jayne, a former magistrates’ court worker, said: “Some years ago, the BBC showed a picture of members of the Yorkshire force holding the cup. It had been found in a drawer and had been discovered during a clear-out. They asked for information about the photograph. Eddie rang and gave them the full story.”
Former Fox Inn landlord John Bayliss named the man responsible for relieving Villa of the most prestigious cup in their trophy room.
The Small Heath-raised Blues fan, who later moved to Cornwall, said: “Some Villa players were regulars and I played golf against one or two. That’s why they came in on that night.
“I was not even a Villa fan, I supported Blues, but I was friendly with them and went out to Rotterdam to watch the final.
“I remember the cup was going around the customers and a lot of them were having their pictures taken. Then one guy, Adrian Reed, took it and said he just wanted a quick picture outside with his car.
“He never came back, so we called the police. They stayed with us and we didn’t hear anything until about 3am, which is when we got the call from Sheffield.”
The grandad-of-eight, who was chairman of Tamworth Football Club between 1984 and 1991, added: “I didn’t know Adrian that well, but he lived locally.
“We obviously banned him after that, but I had never had any problems with him before. He was not the kind of customer that I kept an eye on.
“I have been telling friends in Cornwall that the European Cup was stolen from my pub, but nobody has ever believed me. I’ve been told by some of my old customers that Adrian Reed later passed away.”
Roger Grey also revealed how his then 28-year-old flatmate had swiped the prized trophy – and dropped it down the stairs.
He said: “My recollection is that Adrian turned up one night holding the European Cup. They had had a few drinks, and unfortunately the European Cup fell down the stairs.
“It’s very big and very heavy and I guess after a few drinks people perhaps weren’t as careful with it as they should have been and photographs were taken to prove the event had happened.”
Mr Grey said he lost touch with his pal in the 1980s and he understood that he had died in a car crash a number of years later. “Adrian was a loveable rogue, he’d do anything for his friends,” he added.