Plans scrapped for 65ft tall phone mast at Bearsden

East Dunbartonshire Council told the Herald this week that the planning application for the phone tower adjacent to the Schaw Court Sheltered Housing Facility at Drymen Road had been withdrawn.

Local people had protested over the plan, with hundreds signing an online petition against its installation.

Glen and Sandra Frew, who led the campaign against it, said they were delighted.

Mr Frew added: “This is a great result for all and particularly for the residents of Schaw Court.”

Campaigners had complained that the mast would be higher than the Glasgow City Chambers building, carry multiple antennae and dishes, and would tower over Schaw Court and the popular residents garden.

Mr Frew said: “The tower would be highly visually intrusive and unacceptably prominent - completely out of scale to nearby buildings.”

But health concerns raised by campaigners over 5G mobile technology were dismissed by local Scottish Green MSP Ross Greer.

He posted on Facebook: “If you object to the visual impact fair enough, but there is no radiation risk from 5G.

“It’s unfair to alarm people who don’t know that, particularly elderly residents who can’t immediately disprove it with a quick 
Google.”

A council spokesperson told the Herald: “We can confirm the application has been withdrawn.”