An MP is opposing proposals to build a new 5G phone mast just metres away from a school.

Telecomms company Cignal Infratructure wants to erect the 15-metre pole at Minster Road, Halfway, on Sheppey.

It would be directly in front of Halfway Houses Primary School and Halfway Car Park.

MP for Sheppey and Sittingbourne, Gordon Henderson, thinks it would block the narrow pavement leading to both, causing a danger to pedestrians.

The 75-year-old Tory said: “As the local MP, I object to the location of this proposed mast.

“Along with its associated street furniture and paraphernalia, it will be visually intrusive to the detriment of Halfway.

“It will also potentially be dangerous when the car park and its surrounding pavements are very busy - particularly at school drop off and picking up times where it could add to overcrowding.

“Halfway is a densely populated community and I believe there are better, less obtrusive sites, than the proposed location.”

Retired police officer Tom Lee, from Park Road in Sittingbourne, is part of campaign group A Stand in the Park which regularly protests against anti-freedom measures such as vaccine passports and the move to a cashless society.

He has added his objections, saying: “The scale is such the tower does not relate at all to the surrounding area, and so will introduce a jarring, visually unappealing structure which is wildly out of scale with nearby buildings.

“The impact of the apparatus' appearance on Minster Road appears to be entirely unmitigated.

“There are already similar newly installed masts close by in both Minster Road and in Queenborough Road, they are a complete eyesore. How many more do we have to tolerate?”

Another Sittitingbourne resident, Darrell Clark, also objected to the plans. He wrote: “A tower of that size does not suit the surrounding area and will be an imposing, unrequited structure over the local community and businesses.

“It will be a monstrosity blighting the area.”

The rollout of 5G masts has sparked health fears in recent years, with some concerned about the effects of exposure to radiation.

However, 5G uses non-ionising short radio waves which the government and World Health Organisation insist are safe.

That hasn’t stopped protests based around safety concerns however, with one mum threatening a High Court battle over a mast planned outside her son’s school in Maidstone.

The head himself opposed the installation due to radiation fears.

A decision on the Halfway mast is expected by August 10.

View and comment on the plans by clicking here.

The reference number is 23/502788/TNOT56.