Games and fun at school fair

THERE was plenty of fun in the sun at Darras Hall First School's Summer Fair on Saturday.

And for once the Head did not mind being bombarded with wet sponges in the 'stocks' during the afternoon of entertainment.

The annual event to raise funds for the school, organised by its PTA with support from staff, included a variety of games such as hoopla, coconut shies and a knockout football tournament.

Among the other activities were face-painting and pony rides and the day was also supported by Northumbria Police, which brought along police horses and a police car.

Darras Hall First School Headteacher Peter Tincombe said: "Everyone really enjoyed the event and there was a great turn-out not only from pupils, parents and staff, but also formers pupils and local residents.

"The glorious weather helped a lot and for the first time in five years my annual role of going in the stocks to be hit by sponges was the best job as I was the only one who was cool. We're still counting, but what we can say is that the fair will raise hundreds of pounds for the school."

Source: Morpeth Herald

New bid to halt Darras Hall O2 phone mast

Special planning powers could harnessed in a bid to rectify a council blunder which opened the door for a controversial mobile phone mast to be built outside a popular school.

Anger erupted last year when Northumberland County Council's mistake resulted in Telefonica O² getting planning permission by default for the 12.5 metre-high mast outside 450-pupil Darras Hall First School in Ponteland.

Massive public protests have since persuaded the company to seek a less sensitive alternative site - but fears persist that the extant permission means the mast could still be built.

Now local county councillors have unanimously agreed to seek an Article 4 direction from the Secretary of State, which would revoke the permitted development rights for the school site and give it increased protection against phone mast development.

The move - agreed by the council's west area planning committee - is in response to a 1,800-signature petition from local residents calling for Darras Hall's Broadway area to be safeguarded.

It comes just weeks after hundreds of local people staged a silent protest outside the school, which persuaded O² to drop its plan to build the mast there.

The company is now working with council planners to identify an alternative location, but worries remain that it or another telecoms firm will return to the school site and implement the outstanding planning consent.

Richard Dodd, who represents Ponteland North on the county council, said seeking the Article 4 direction was the only option to protect the site from development.

"As local councillors we have to leave no stone unturned on this, and that is what we are trying to do. None of us are against mobile phone masts but we don't want them put outside a school.

"O² have said they won't put their mast there but this direction would make sure nobody else does either. O² might be playing the good guy but someone else could step in if planning permission exists there. If this direction is approved, there would have to be a completely new planning application and a prospective developer would have to start from scratch.

"What we are trying to do here is rectify a mistake made by the council's planning officials."

A council spokeswoman said the exact parameters of the area to be covered by an Article 4 direction would be agreed at the next meeting of the planning committee.

Permission for the school site was gained by default last May, when the council failed to make its decision to reject O²'s application within the required 56-day timescale. That sparked fury amongst parents, staff and governors at the school, and hundreds more residents opposed an alternative site further along The Broadway.

Planning rules say an Article 4 direction can be made where there is a "real and specific threat to the locality in which the development is to take place".

A report to the committee by officers said there needs to be a "compelling case" to justify such a move.

Source: Journal Live

Families Vow to Stop Darras Hall O2 Phone Mast

FAMILIES fighting plans to put up a mobile phone mast near homes and a school say they are even more determined to succeed following a visit by a leading radiation expert.

Hundreds of parents and other local residents have opposed two separate bids by Telefonica O2 to erect the mast on The Broadway in Darras Hall, Northumberland – both of which have been rejected by county councillors. 02 – which is currently considering its next move – has gained planning permission by default for a site outside the local primary school, after the council failed to make its decision within the required timescale earlier this year.

Now campaigners say their resolve to win the fight has been strengthened after around 200 local people attended a public meeting in Ponteland Memorial Hall, addressed by academic and author Barrie Trower.

Mr Trower, a scientific adviser to the Radiation Research Trust, outlined his serious concerns about research carried out into the public health impacts of radiation from telecommunications masts. He told the audience there are no known safe levels of microwaves for children, and gave evidence about 200 alleged cancer clusters in schools which have transmitters near them.

Mr Trower also referred to research which suggests that microwaves can change DNA in cells, with the possibility that children can carry genetic faults.

Yesterday businessman Ian McLean, who lives in The Drey, Darras Hall, and has a child at the first school, said: “We were delighted with the turnout and at the end of the meeting we held a vote. Not a single person was in favour of having a mast on Broadway.

“Barrie Trower presented some very disturbing and worrying evidence and research, which has been peer-reviewed. We would beg O2 to take the precautionary route and not make us part of a giant experiment.

“They should be taking their mast away from a residential area and the school. Following the meeting, people are even more determined to fight this proposal.”

Mr Trower told The Journal that local referendums should be held over plans to site phone masts near people’s homes, with the results binding on both the local community and the proposed developer.

“If a local population says we think this is too dangerous then nobody should force a mast on them.

“I don’t think it will ever happen, because there is too much money involved,’’ he added.

02 says all of its installations conform with guidelines from the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection. “The World Health Organisation has issued a factsheet summarising research to date and its conclusion was that there is no risk to people’s health as a result of living near mobile phone base stations,” it adds.

Source: Journal Live

Do Phone Masts Harm?

MEETING – PONTELAND MEMORIAL HALL – THURSDAY 3 DECEMBER AT 6.30PM

I do not want my precious child to be a cancer statistic.  I do not want any child at Darras Hall First School to be a statistic.  I don’t want any of the female teachers to be more susceptible to breast cancer, nor any of the people at the school to be more prone to health problems than anyone else.

I don’t want anyone within 400metres of 02s proposed mast to be used in some sort of morbid research and to have to be suing the telecommunications company in the next 10-20 years.

That’s how I feel now.  At first, although I knew that radiation wasn’t ‘good’, it wasn’t until I started my own research that I began to realise how dangerous it could be – especially for children.  I, along with others, objected about the 02 mast and was very relieved to see the Council reject the application.

However, it is STILL very much a possibility that 02 could erect the mast outside the school if they so wish.  Just because the site further down the road was rejected does NOT mean that we have ‘WON’ and 02 will just disappear!

Should they use the site outside the school, there would be no controlling any OTHER telephone company who wished to install THEIR beam at the school either – so, 1,2,3 masts?  Think of that!

THESE MASTS PULSE 24 HOURS A DAY.  Anyone in the vicinity of this mast (400metres) will be living in it 24 hours a day.  The frequency of how they pulse is very near to the human brain.  It can and does affect how our brains work, especially childrens brains. 

Mobile telephone technology is still developing.  There is no way that these companies can honestly say that they are safe – there has not been time for enough research.  Whilst we know we cannot do without them now, we CAN minimise the risks, and ensuring that the mast is NEVER sited outside the school is a start – it tells 02 that we are a community that cares for ourselves and our families.

Unfortunately, we can’t look at the Government to protect us.  As it receives £20billion + a year from the phone companies I don’t think it’ll want to stop them somehow.  We need to look after our community and ensure that 02 keep the mast away from not only the school, but from your own back door too.  We need to keep the pressure up to ensure any future masts are not next to schools, shops, playgroups, churches or peoples homes.  Its our right to keep our home and family safe.

We are holding a meeting at Ponteland Memorial Hall on Thursday 3 December, at 6.30pm.  At that meeting we will be inviting Mr Barrie Trower, a very well respected Scientific Advisor for the Radiation Research Trust and has been asked to do research for the Police Federation.  Mr Trower lives in Dartmoor and his giving up his free time to us, to come and inform us about this subject.

We also intend to ask local MPs, Councillors, TV and Radio to come along too.  We want to send a message to 02 that we won’t accept their proposals.  We value our homes and our community.

Please ensure that you come along to this meeting.  If you are not convinced about the dangers of these masts, keep an open mind and let Mr Trower talk about his research.  You may have your own questions you want answered – and he would be happy to do so.

It’s vital that we have your support – please spare these few hours!

For further information please contact myself, Ian Mclean, 872441 or email me at allison.mclean@ sky.com.

Thank you.

Mobile Mast Switch Sparks New Protests

Residents in Ponteland opposing plans for a mobile phone mast outside a village school are renewing their fight over a proposed alternative site about 200 metres away.

Earlier this year a bid by Telefonica O2 to put up a 12.5-metre mast in Broadway, Darras Hall, was rejected by Northumberland county councillors, following strong objections from Darras Hall First School, local councillors and residents.

But due to a planning blunder, it was revealed that the refusal was invalid, because it did not happen within the required 56 days of the initial application being received.

The oversight left O2 free to go ahead and install the mast next to the school. But the company agreed to hold talks with the council on finding an alternative and less sensitive site for the structure.

It has since submitted a revised application to erect a 15-metre mast further along Broadway, between 150 and 200 metres from the original site.

However, the changes have renewed fears of people living close to the new site, including elderly residents living in Darras Mews and families in Wentworth Court.

Objectors, who believe the mast will be a radiation hazard, a highway safety risk and detrimental to the visual appeal of the area, now believe the problem is simply being moved away from the school and on to their doorsteps.

Some residents have even taken to the streets with placards to inform local people about the proposal and to urge them to submit objection.

County councillor for Ponteland East, Mel Armstrong, said: “This is a really prickly situation because there is a feeling locally that the problem is simply being moved along.

“We are opposing this new site because it will affect just as many people as it would have done originally, but there is the danger that if it is rejected O2 will just revert back to the initial site.

“It is a Catch 22 situation which has a lot of people very concerned.”

Head teacher of Darras Hall First School, Peter Tincombe, said in a letter to parents that the alternative site did not allay his initial concerns, and that he had lodged a new objection as well as urging parents to do the same.

His objection reads: “Whilst I appreciate efforts to find an alternative site, the current application does not allow me to withdraw my original objections.

“There remains very significant concern and anger about this proposal within the community.”

A spokesman for O2, said: “It is part of our network roll-out programme to identify suitable locations for masts with the help of local authorities.

“Due to the circumstances surrounding this case and in the spirit of compromise, we agreed to negotiate an alternative.

“Understandably there are often concerns raised when masts are required in residential areas, but I would like to reassure the public that we adhere to strict industry guidelines and operate well below public exposure guidelines.”

A county council spokesman said: “O2 has submitted another application for a telecommunications mast on Broadway. This would be at the opposite end of Broadway and would be nearer to elderly people in particular than the previous proposal.

“The application will be heard by the west area planning committee on Thursday, November 5.”

Source: Hexham Courant

Extra Places in School's Nursery

NEARLY 40 nursery places will be created at a Ponteland school after a plan to demolish two mobile units and replace them with four new ones was granted.
Northumberland County Council's Planning and Regulation Committee agreed to the demolition of the existing units and the siting of four new ones at Darras Hall First School in Broadway.

The proposal would provide nursery facilities for 39 children, which would address the issue of growing enrolment numbers.

Planning officer Sarah Laverick said: "The siting of four mobile units would provide an improved nursery facility, community use and enhanced sports provision at an existing educational facility. "The first school site is located within the Darras Hall Estate, located to the west of the site with hard play areas and soft landscaping to the east of the site. "The units would measure approximately 14.5 metres by four metres with a height of 2.7 metres each." "Darras Hall First School has been allocated funds from the Sure Start Quality and Access grant, and the units would provide nursery school facilities for a maximum of 39 children.

"The application would provide an improved modern nursery facility, space for out-of-hours community use and an enhanced sports provision," added Miss Laverick.

Source: Morpeth Herald

Ice Skating At Darras First School

A temporary ice rink with synthetic ice will be set up in Darras Hall First School's playground on Friday 13th February from 3.30pm to 6pm and Saturday14th February between 10am and 6pm.

Why not pop along for a romantic Valentines Day skate.

Tickets cost £4 for a 45-minute session and can be purchased on the day or in advance from the school office