Residents living around a small village green in Mitcham are united in their opposition to the placement of an EE phone mast which they believe would ‘cast a shadow’ over the protected land. Locals have said they are ‘absolutely determined’ to stop the mast and protect their land.
Cranmer Green is a small patch of grass set aside from the Mitcham Green Cricket Green Conservation Area. The protected land also sits in front of a row of 18th-century cottages and Cranmer Farm Close, a small cul-de-sac.
Late last year, residents of Cranmer Farm Close received a notification from Merton Council and telecom company EE regarding plans to erect a 20m mast and six street cabinets on the green. While only a few residents received the notification, word spread, and opposition quickly grew among the small community.
Helen Carter, who owns one of the cottages around the green, has helped lead the charge against the plans. Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), she said: “[The applicant on behalf of EE] Waldon sent notifications to some of the people in Cranmer Farm Close, and one of the farm cottages. Then we became aware that we hadn’t all been notified.
“At that point, we all wrote objections, and we thought it would go no further because so many people had objected. We were really surprised when it then proceeded to a full planning application early in the new year. As nearly all of us from Cranmer Cottages and Cranmer Farm Close had objected, we thought we would be notified if it went to full application but we weren’t.”
The application was made by Waldon telecoms company and has the backing of Merton Council officers. Johns believes the proposal to erect on the green comes following its decision to decommission another mobile phone mast in the nearby Willow Lane Industrial Estate.
The residents have been clear that while they don’t object to the idea of better connectivity, they believe Waldon and Merton Council have not tried hard enough to locate other sites that would have a lesser conservational impact. Carter told the LDRS: “A lot of people work from home and would benefit from better WiFi, but everyone recognises that that site is a village green and it’s the wrong place for an installation.”
According to Tony Burton, Chair of the Mitcham Cricket Green Community and Heritage Group (MCGCH), there are a number of other sites in the local area that would be suitable for such a mast. He said: “The telecoms company has submitted no details to the council to demonstrate they considered other sites before putting in for permissions to put it on the village green. Shockingly there is information released to a resident through an FOI request that indicates the whole structure will be a ‘fenced compound’.”
The FOI request, issued by MCGCH, also shows communications between Merton Council and EE dating back to 2021. This has led residents to speculate that the council has been in negotiations about the mast prior to the planning application being lodged, however Merton Council denies this.
Carter, a mother-of-three, told the LDRS that residents’ objections to the mast have been passionate and that there is a lot of love for the green, which is often used by dog walkers and young families. She said: “When I’ve spoken to people on doorsteps, one older resident said he felt the council had picked that place deliberately because they think the people in those flats don’t have much fight in them. That’s how people feel.
“At another property, I went to the door and it was opened by an elderly man’s carer. He was hooked up to oxygen and bed-bound, but when I told him about the mast he was absolutely determined to sign that letter and said he had already written to Waldon in the pre-planning phase.”
The fear is that the new mast could open up the floodgates for similar constructions in the area’s other protected green spaces. The site is close to Mitcham’s other historic green spaces, Cricket Green and Lower Green, which are also protected as conservation areas. Carter added: “If a mast can be put there it can be put on any of our green spaces.”
Jordan Neary, who lives at one of the cottages just off Cranmer Green, told the LDRS: “I think the council has gone about it in a cloak and dagger way. Basically, residents don’t want a 20 metre telecommunications system being slapped bang in the middle of the village green.
“You have runners and dog walkers on the green. It’s near the main green, where they do events in the summer. Sometimes they put a big screen up for things like football or Wimbledon. It’s also 100ft from the church where people get married. It will be an eyesore. It will have a negative impact on the community.”
Residents held a small coffee morning on the green last Sunday morning to drum up opposition to the plans and it has snowballed. The deadline for objections to the application is February 21.
A council spokesperson said: “The council has received a planning application for a mobile phone mast near Cranmer Farm Close, but there have been no negotiations with mast operators on this site. This application will be considered following our standard procedures. We are aware of the conservation area status and open space designations in the area, which will be an important factor in evaluating the submission and reaching our conclusions.”
Waldon was approached for comment but failed to reply in time for publication.
Photos: Cranmer Green residents met for a lunchtime protest on the Green last Sunday Credit: Helen Carter
The residents believe the new mast would be installed to replaced a similar mast being decommissioned in Willow Lane Industrial Estate Credit: MCGCH
