Plans to build 5G mast next to Brighton children's play park

Cignal Infrastructure Limited UK (CIL) has applied to put up a 15-metre pylon in Whitehawk Way, just metres away from a children’s playground, and another in Southall Avenue.

5G masts are controversial in residential areas with people questioning the safety of the radio waves they transmit.

But CIL, which owns mobile network provider Three, has addressed the fears in its planning applications to Brighton and Hove City Council.

“The radio signal exposure characteristics of 5G are similar to those of existing mobile technologies,” reads a statement from Mobile UK included in the documents.

“In particular, the new applications use similar transmitting powers and operate in similar frequency ranges.

“A European Commission expert committee concluded that current knowledge about how electromagnetic fields interact with the human body can be used to set exposure limits for the whole frequency range up to 300 gigahertz.”

The planned site at the bottom of Southall Avenue (Image: Google Earth/Andrew Gardner)

5G masts emit radio waves at a frequency of “up to a few tens gigahertz”, the UK Government says.

In official advice, a spokesman for the government said: “It is possible that there may be a small increase in overall exposure to radio waves when 5G is added to an existing network or in a new area.

“However, the overall exposure is expected to remain low relative to guidelines and, as such, there should be no consequences for public health.”

Last year, residents in Heathy Brow, Peacehaven, were up-in-arms at learning Hutchison 3G UK Ltd had applied to build a 5G mast on their street.

Hutchinson 3G UK Ltd changed its name to Cignal Infrastructure Limited UK (CIL) in November 2022.

One couple who live directly next to the proposed Peacehaven mast said at the time they were “terrified” of having it there.

The woman said: “There are pregnant mums in the area, I have a pacemaker for my heart. I am terrified, I can’t sleep because of this. I want to be reassured that they’re safe.”

A 5G mast similar to the ones proposed in Whitehawk Way and Southall Avenue (Image: Submitted)

READ MORE: People in Peacehaven unhappy with planned 5G mast

The radio wave band used for mobile phone networks is non-ionising “which means it lacks sufficient energy to break apart DNA and cause cellular damage”, David Robert Grimes, a physicist and cancer researcher, told the BBC last year.

All radio frequency radiation is described by the World Health Organisation as “possibly carcinogenic”. Wood dust and alcoholic drinks are also on this list.

A Three spokeswoman said: “5G rollout is vital for residents and businesses of Brighton.

“We want to offer the community a reliable network experience and these sites will be critical to making that happen.

“Masts need to be situated where people will be using the service and, in many cases, in precise locations to ensure the widest breadth of coverage. We carry out extensive searches and evaluate a wide range of options before submitting any planning applications.”

The spokeswoman said that from a health and safety standpoint “5G is no different to any other mobile technology” and that Three complies with all national and international radiation guidelines.

“We take our obligation to run a safe network very seriously,” she said.