Mast slashed home value by 25%

Laura Smith, Evening Standard
Updated 00:00am on 9 Jun 2003

Melanie Hall and her husband won thousands of pounds in compensation for the decrease in the value of their home after a mobile phone mast was put up nearby.

The couple, who have two children, brought a complaint against the mobile phone company, saying the 20ft mast had reduced the value of their house by up to 25 per cent. One2One - now called T-Mobile - was forced to award a total of £117,000 to seven households in the area in a landmark ruling.

Each family received between £10,000 and £20,000.

But Mrs Hall, 36, said the sums they have been offered are far lower than the sudden decrease in the value of the family's bungalow in Swindon.

She said: "The compensation doesn't mean much really - ideally we wanted the mast to come down. It should not have gone up in the first place; it's a residential area." Mrs Hall and husband Richard, a draughtsman, have seven-year-old twins, Curtis and Megan. The mast is 30 yards from Megan's bedroom.

Mrs Hall added: "We don't know whether there are health dangers but it is a worry. We objected to the mast because it completely spoils the view. This was our ideal home but from our garden all you can see is this mast.

"When it comes down, that will be a victory."