The residents of Sir Luigi Preziosi Street, Lija, were very unpleasantly surprised recently to find that a Melita mobile phone base station antenna had been erected on the roof of one of the houses of character there without prior notice.

Preziosi Street is a narrow road in the village core and consists of houses of character inhabited by a good number of residents within a 15-metre radius of the antenna. Is this what the law and best practice permit? In response to various queries to the Malta Environmental and Planning Athority, we have been informed that no permit is required for such an installation, as long as the structure is constructed 4.5 metres from the façade. That, for them, is the only issue.

Why are telephony and other service providers not regulated at all in this regard? All that is required is for one resident (or in this case the owner of a house rented out to foreign students) to be willing to allow the antenna to be erected on the roof for a hefty annual payment, without any consideration for aesthetics or the wishes of the neighbours, or even, more importantly, the possible health risks involved.

The dangers to health have been documented by various international bodies, but Melita argues that since the health hazards have not been proved, then business should be allowed to proceed. On the other hand, we, as citizens, demand that the precautionary principle be honoured and applied, namely, that if there is doubt as to whether there can be an adverse effect on health, then the erection of such a structure in densely populated residential areas should be banned.

There are now three telephony companies in Malta vying for better reception. Are we to expect more of these antennae to be erected in urban areas without any regulation and safeguards at all? Surely there should be an immediate halt to this practice, and then it would be the responsibility of Mepa and the public health authorities, through a permit application system and criteria that would preclude the erection of such structures in residential areas.

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