Terms agreed with T Mobile UK Ltd for use of Walworth Police Station as a site for non emergency service aerials

Report: 09
Date: 17 November 2005
By: Commissioner

Summary

The Finance Committee has previously approved terms for the siting of non-emergency service aerials on the MPA estate to generate revenue. Terms have been agreed, subject to approval, with T Mobile (UK) Ltd for the location of additional aerials at Walworth Police Station, Southwark.

In accordance with MPA policy, the Director of Property Services has delegated authority to handle this matter, subject to consultation with the MPA Link Member for the Borough. The Link Member was consulted and has requested that the matter be put before the MPA Finance Committee for consideration. This report details the proposed terms and provides a generic risk analysis in relation to the local area. It makes recommendations on this proposal.

A. Recommendation

That Members approve the terms agreed, subject to contract, with T Mobile (UK) Ltd for the siting of mobile telecoms aerials and associated equipment at Walworth Police Station.

B. Supporting information

1. Terms have been agreed, subject to contract, for the use of space at Walworth Police Station for T Mobile to install and operate 2G and 3G equipment and aerials on the roof of Walworth Police Station.

2. Walworth is an operational police station for Southwark Borough Operational Command Unit (BOCU), with a 24 hour front office and comprising various operational and administrative offices.

3. A summary of the key Heads of Terms, which have been agreed, are set out in Exempt Appendix 1.

4. The site is to the south of Elephant and Castle, close to the A215 Walworth Road in a mixed use area. The police station adjoins a railway line to the west, and the surrounding area is a mixture of retail, industrial and residential uses. Almost directly opposite the site is a large local authority recycling depot.

5. Appendix 2 is a map of the area, showing the building in relation to its surroundings. The blue stars show the approximate position of existing mobile telephone aerials. This information comes from a visual survey and the Radio communications Agency website. Schools are shown by the blue shaded boxes, with the health centre and hospital in the yellow shaded boxes. The information on the location of schools is provided by the Department of Education database, Edubase.

6. Consultations in relation to the schools form part of the Code of Best Practice that the operator is signed up to. These form part of the planning processes for this installation. T Mobile undertakes all these consultations as the operator of the equipment.

7. Siting of aerials relative to schools and hospitals is dealt with under the planning system, which the operator, if approved to proceed with this site, will deal with under the Traffic Light model incorporated in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister’s Code of Best Practice mentioned above. The National Radiological Protection Board deals with health and safety issues.

8. Consultation with all relevant departments has been undertaken to ensure there are no operational concerns resulting from this installation. The Directorate of Public Affairs has also been advised of this proposal.

9. Direct consultation has been undertaken with the MPA link member, and the staff unions and Police Federation. No responses have been received from the Unions or Police Federation.

10. Jenny Jones, as MPA link member for Southwark Borough has responded to this consultation process and has made the following comments:

I object strongly to the installation of a mobile phone telecoms aerial on the Walworth Police Station.

The arguments concerning the mitigation of the effect on the neighbouring school seem to be flawed. First, having one aerial near the school is no reason for having another, however placed or directed. Secondly, as you acknowledge that there is already one aerial nearby, your suggestion that placing an aerial on the police station would avoid other areas in the area is clearly inconsistent. Thirdly, the science regarding the effect of telecoms aerials is by no means conclusive; as such, a precautionary principle must be followed, with public service bodies taking the lead. This means refusing to place telecoms aerials on all public buildings.

As I have serious concerns about the installation of an aerial on the Walworth Police Station, I should like the Finance Committee of the MPA to make the final decision in this case.

It is noted that the reference to a school nearby was in fact in the briefing paper sent to the link member as part of the consultation. This refers to another site previously approved by the Finance Committee where there was a school next door to the site. This is not the case at Walworth police station.

11. The MPA requires the Director of Property Services to put each case to the Finance Committee for approval where the MPA link member requests this.

12. The generic issues relating to mobile phone mast sites were discussed in the approved July 2003 report to the Finance Committee entitled “Terms agreed with Vodafone for use of Chiswick police station as a site for non emergency aerials”. In addition, the National Radiological Protection Board’s (NRPB) report A Summary of Recent Reports on Mobile Phones and Health (2000–2004) issued in January 2005 reviewed the available national and international literature on health related issues. A summary of these papers is filed in the Members’ Library.

13. The main conclusion of the NRPB’s report is that there is no evidence of detrimental health effects from mobile telecoms base stations.

List of abbreviations

MPA

Metropolitan Police Authority

BOCU

Borough Operational Command Unit

C. Legal implications

1. The agreement will create a new leasehold interest in the property in favour of T Mobile. The lease will be outside of the Security of Tenure provisions of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (as amended).

2. Under the Telecoms Code, T Mobile have powers to compulsorily acquire and retain sites for aerials, subject to compensation provisions. Although the lease seeks to limit the tenant’s ability to exercise these powers, this has been untested in the courts. Such powers are rarely used due to the potential adverse impact on site acquisitions and it is considered that the risk of this occurring is low in current circumstances. The MPA retains rights to terminate the lease in the event that the aerial conflicts with MPS systems or operational matters.

D. Race and equality impact

There are considered to be no equality and diversity implications arising from the issues in this report.

E. Financial implications

The terms agreed with T Mobile are contained in Appendix 1. The terms agreed have been negotiated to ensure that the MPA’s interests are protected as far as legally possible.

F. Background papers

• Finance Committee – 16 January 2003
• Finance Committee – 23 October 2003
• Code of Best Practice on Mobile Phone Network Development:
  Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, 2002
• Department of Trade & Industry Mobile Phone Base Station Audit – School Results 2002: DTI Press Release 18th February 2003 (P/2003/100)

G. Contact details

Report author: Alan Croney, Director of Property Services, MPS.

For more information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

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