Radio mast ruins view at Les Laches

PRESCRIPTION charges went up by 50p in Sark yesterday – the first increase for almost six years.
The price rise was announced by the Professor Saint Trust – the charity which since 1974 has subsidised the cost of prescribed medication to Sark residents – and it means that each item will cost £4.50, although there is nothing to stop those who can afford it from paying the full cost.
Trust secretary Peter Cunneen said that during the last 35 years Professor Charles Saint’s legacy has been boosted by other legacies, donations and the work of the Carnival Committee, all of which have ensured its continued service.
‘The trustees are committed to the trust’s future – something which I personally see as being an essential element of Sark’s community,’ he said. ‘It is a triumph for the island that in this day and age we can achieve such a high level of service outside state provision.’
Peter added that while the trustees will continue to work for the trust’s safe future, they are both aware of and grateful for the efforts that people make – both collectively and individually – on its behalf.
There are many beautiful places in Sark at which residents and visitors can do little more energetic than sit, contemplate that which is around them and wonder how the other half live.
One of my favourites, probably because it’s only a few hundred yards from my home, is the headland at Les Laches – on the east of the island between Derrible and Creux Harbour – despite the fact that it’s only a short distance from Sark’s sewage treatment works.
As well as being the site of an excellent view of the north coast of Jersey – for those who want that sort of thing – until very recently it was also ‘home’ to an old cannon and a bench upon which people can sit awhile.
Now, however, these amenities have been joined by what, at a distance, looks like a cross between a flagpole and yet another of those infernal mobile phone masts, the proliferation of which leads me to believe that it won’t be long before there’s one for each of those of Sark’s residents who walk around as if they’ve all got stiff necks and are using one hand to keep their head from falling off.
I am told, by someone who knows about these things, that in fact it’s a VHF radio mast which has been located at this site in order to resolve a radio ‘blind spot’ which led to difficulties in communications between emergency vessels such as the lifeboat and the Flying Christine and the Harbour Office at St Peter Port.
I don’t recall seeing a planning application for this particular structure – indeed, I don’t recall ever seeing an application for any of the communications masts erected in recent years – although that doesn’t mean to say that I didn’t miss it.
I stress that I accept that such a facility is necessary if indeed there are communication problems for emergency services – my concern relates to the location.
Had I seen such an application, then I might well have asked if this particularly lovely bit of headland was really the only place at which it could be built. If I am correct and no planning application needs to be submitted for these sort of things, then perhaps the law should be changed.
Like almost everything else which the modern world’s consumer-related demands tell us are essential, there is a body of opinion which suggests that they are not as safe as users and manufacturers would have us believe.
The need for a planning application would at least give people the chance to question whether the installations – and/or their locations – are potentially harmful and appropriate. (from thisisguernsey)