Harry’s Field campsite owners in Frogham battle mobile phone giants EE and Three over mast plans
A NEW Forest woman said her life has been made “hell” for the past two years by a costly battle to stop a company from installing a mobile phone mast on her campsite.
Vivien Sheriff, who also runs a bespoke hat business with royal customers from around the world, has hit out at Mobile Broadband Networks Ltd (MBNL), a joint venture between giants EE and Three.
The firm wanted to install a 20-metre mast on her land but despite Vivien saying no, she was “bombarded” with correspondence and, she said, threatened with legal action using legislation meant to support better mobile coverage.
The project was stopped only when the national park authority refused planning permission, but MBNL could still challenge that on appeal.
Vivien has enlisted the help of New Forest West MP Sir Desmond Swayne, who raised her case in the House of Commons and wants the law changed to check the power of telecommunication firms.
Now the two mobile giants have pledged to look into her case, while MBNL has said it will review the way it communicates with landowners.
Vivien told the A&T: “It’s been hell and it is outrageous to be honest. We don’t want them to do it and we have always told them so.
“It just seems crazy companies can decide they want your land, put in planning permission for it – even when you say no – and all the while trying to force you to agree to what they want.
“Because of MBNL we have had to spend tens of thousands of pounds to fight this. It has affected our family life, our working lives and it has drained us emotionally during a time when Covid-19 killed off a lot of my main business and forced us to rely on the campsite for our livelihoods.”
The row centres on Harry’s Field, in the picturesque village of Frogham, where Vivien and her husband Ian run a popular summer camping and caravanning site.
MBNL proposed a 20-metre mast with a wraparound cabinet in a corner of the land, served by an access route running diagonally from the entrance which must be kept clear round the clock.
Vivien said when she was first contacted in 2020 about her land, she told MBNL she was not interested – only to be “bombarded” with correspondence and calls. She reluctantly let surveyors onto her land after being threatened with court action.
In April 2021 she was sent a head of terms for agreements – which she refused – and served statutory notices under the Electronic Communications Code for a permanent or temporary mast.
MBNL subsequently made a planning application for the permanent mast in August last year but it was rejected by the NPA’s planning committee, amid more than 130 objections with just two in support.
Yet it may not be the end of the saga as MBNL could yet appeal the refusal.
Responding to Vivien’s claims, Will Osborne, national planning manager for MBNL, stressed it sought “to conduct all negotiations with existing or potential site providers in the right manner, recognising the importance of the relationship with them”.
He went on: “We will be reviewing our communications to check that these standards continue to be met.
“Maintaining coverage for customers in this area of the New Forest is extremely important for local residents and businesses, as high quality telecoms coverage is a necessary requirement for modern day living.
“Since being advised of the need to find a replacement location, we have worked tirelessly to do so, including asking the local council for alternative sites.
“We remain committed to working with the local community and land owners to find a solution, and have already arranged for a representative from MBNL to meet with parish councillors and local planning authority representatives later this month to discuss where may be suitable to locate a telecoms mast.”
EE and Three also released a statement saying MBNL was responsible for direct relationships with landlords on the majority of sites.
It added that they “took any complaints about MBNL seriously and would look into the concerns raised”.
