PLANS to site three 29-metre high railway communication masts along a ten-mile stretch of the Tamar Valley line is causing controversy among residents.

Masts are planned for Calstock, Bere Alston and Bere Ferrers on the line from Gunnislake to Plymouth as part of an improved communication system — and Network Rail does not need any planning permission to go-ahead.

Local residents have raised concerns about the height of the structures, potential health hazards and the impact on the Tamar Valley AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty). They are also angry over the lack of consultation.

Chris Saville who lives close to Bere Alston Station said the mast would 'stick out like a sore thumb'.

'It's going to look like an electricity pylon. It's two or three times taller than any other structure in the area and this is an AONB and heritage site.

'I have tried to make enquiries to get some more information but I have come up against a brick wall. West Devon Borough Council says Network Rail has permitted development rights so there is nothing they can do about it.'

Member of Bere Ferrers Parish Council Brian Lamb said he lived near the proposed site at Bere Ferrers and had received notification of the plans.

'Network Rail intends to start work in a month,' he said. 'I find it very strange when people have to have planning permission for quite small structures yet Network Rail can put up a massive piece of equipment like this wherever it wants.

'I will be interested to see if they can disguise it in some way like they have in other areas of the country. In the New Forest a mobile phone mast look like a tree from a distance.

'A 29-metre mast is really inappropriate installation in an area of outstanding natural beauty.'

A meeting was held at the site of the proposed mast at Calstock Station on Friday between members of the parish council and Network Rail. Some local residents and interested parties from Bere Ferrers, Bere Alston and Sandplace in Looe, where a mast is also being erected, also attended.

Issues of concern were raised and Network Rail said it would be considering them before making a response. But media relations officer Mavis Choong said this week that masts being installed would allow direct and continuous communication between train drivers and signallers, considerably improving safety, reliability and punctuality for all passengers.

Masts were sited away from populated areas as much as possible as long as 100% coverage could be achieved, but it depended on the topography of the land and in the Tamar Valley this was more challenging, she said.

Anyone living within a 200-metre radius of the mast would be informed of the plans.

An upgraded communications system has been a key recommendation of various reports into rail incidents, including the Cullen Report into the Ladbroke Grove accident in London which killed 31 people and more than 250 people were injured.

The rail company said railway masts would only ever be used for railway purposes and not for mobile phone antennae.

They were designed to transmit most of their power in one particular direction along the railway line, not in every direction like a mobile phone.

'If people love their railways, which we know they do, they need to take a step back,' added Mavis Choong.

'We are safeguarding the future of the railway. If the rest of the country is improved and modernised and we leave the Tamar Valley behind where does that leave the railway line?'

She added that she was not aware of any other masts being planned for the Tamar Valley Line.