Barbara Gayle, Staff Reporter
THE NATIONAL Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) has issued a stop order barring Digicel Jamaica from erecting a cellular base station in Manor Park, St. Andrew.
It is being erected in an empty lot near townhouses in the Manor House Complex.
The stop order was issued last week in response to protests made by residents of the housing scheme who have raised concerns about their health as well as the close proximity of the cellular base to the boundary wall of some of the townhouses.
STOP ORDER NOTICE
A notice indicating that the stop order was served was posted last week at the Constant Spring Post Office, St. Andrew.
The residents have also sought the intervention of Mayor Desmond McKenzie, and are seeking to ascertain whether the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC) granted approval for the installation and operation of the cellular base station. They expressed their concerns to the mayor in a letter dated December 23, 2005.
In response to a letter sent to Jamaica Property Company Ltd., its building manager Dave Smith sent a letter to the residents last month informing them that the company had granted a licence to Digicel to use the area for the purpose of installing and operating a cellular base station.
ANTENNA SITE
Mr. Smith disclosed in the letter that, the subject area had been an antenna site for well over 10 years, and said further that the recent installation actually replaced a similar tower that was disconnected and removed in October 2005.
He said further that Jamaica Property Company Ltd. was satisfied that, based on extensive literature published by world renowned environmental and health agencies, the radiated power densities around base stations were below the standard international limit and posed no real threat or danger to the public.
