Council blunder allows go-ahead for phone mast

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Wed 5th Sep 2007

Colchester Borough Council has admitted that an administrative blunder has resulted in a huge telephone mast being erected outside the town's historic Garrison Church in Military Road.

The admission comes in a letter to Town MP Bob Russell who had written to the Council to ask why approval had been given for the mast, and a large cabinet containing telephone equipment, which he said had resulted in the setting of the Church being disfigured.

The Garrison Church is a Listed Building and is located in a Conservation Area.

It transpires that the Council had intended to lodge an objection, but an administrative blunder meant that it did not happen in time. Planning regulations require the Council to issue any objection within 56 days, otherwise approval is deemed to be granted.

"Unfortunately", the Council has told Mr Russell, "the decision was not received by the applicant until after 56 days and permission was therefore granted by default."

Today Mr Russell criticised the Council for not having procedures in place to check that responses to such applications were determined within the time. "I do not blame individual members of staff, but rather the regime which has allowed this to happen.

"Line management, and ultimately the Council's political leadership, must be held responsible for not having procedures to check and double-check that blunders of this sort do not happen."

He added: "The phone mast which has been erected is the tallest I have ever seen - wider and taller than a street light column. It should never been allowed to have been erected outside a Listed Building."

The white painted wooden Garrison Church, held its last service earlier this year and a new church for the Garrison has opened at the Army housing estate off Layer Road.

There is an uncertain future about the famous building, believed to be the largest wooden church in the country, which has been a Colchester landmark since it was built 150 years ago.

It is still owned by the Ministry of Defence, but in due course it will be handed over to the company re-developing the old Garrison land and buildings as part of the deal to build the new Colchester Garrison. Several residents have formed a group to consider suggestions as to what use the building could be put.

In a separate move, urgent repairs are currently being carried out to the Church roof after residents contacted Mr Russell to point out that lead flashing had broken loose.