The announcement that Vodafone wants to place a 25 meter high antenna mast in Schermerhorn caused quite a bit of unrest in the village. The idea is to place the mast on Oostmijzerdijk near the Sporting S sports association. Local residents think that the village view is being affected and are taking action. “Such a horribly ugly mast does not belong against such a beautiful village”, resident Rob Josselet sighs.
Rob Josselet was unpleasantly surprised when he received a letter last week about an information meeting in De Mijse sports hall about the antenna mast. The letter states that Vodafone has decided in consultation with the municipality to install a free-standing mast on Oostmijzerdijk. There is already a pole with a siren that is used for the monthly air raid siren.
The difference, however, is that the new mast will be 25 meters high. “It can be seen from all sides,” says resident Josselet. “Such a monstrous mast belongs in an industrial area, doesn’t it? The church tower has been a beacon in the landscape for centuries. Will it soon compete with such an ugly, iconic mast? And that’s not even talking about the health risks due to radiation Surely there must be another solution.”
White spots
But as can be read in the letter, there are no possibilities to place the antenna on a high building or, for example, a high-voltage pylon or chimney. According to Vodafone, there are none. “That is why the only option here is to realize a free-standing mast”, the letter states.
The range in Schermerhorn has been a problem for years. That is why Piet Groot of sports hall De Mijse is in any case not an opponent of the mast. “I admit it’s not very pretty, but if you’re in our sports hall, you already have no coverage. There are a lot of white spots in the village. It’s very simple: if you want to make a phone call, we have that mast just needed.”
And no, Groot will not walk in now that a mast may be placed in front of his door in the future. “The land does not belong to us, but I think it belongs to the municipality of Alkmaar. We therefore do not earn anything from it. If it had been our land, that mast would have been there for a long time,” says Groot with a laugh.
Secretly
For Rob Josselet and other residents, however, the mast is an eyesore. They also find the fact that only residents within a radius of 250 meters have received an invitation for the information meeting is not fair. “It’s all a bit sneaky, like they want to push it through quickly.”
The residents will not let it go. They are now handing out flyers telling everyone to come to the information meeting on November 10 and make their voices heard. In any case, the residents have the VVD of Alkmaar on their side. The party has asked the commission a number of critical questions about the usefulness and necessity of the mast.
Tomorrow more about the antenna mast in Schermerhorn