HAVERFORDWEST residents won their long battle against a 15-metre temporary telecommunication mast at Uzmaston Road on Tuesday.

Over 100 people attended the meeting of the county council planning committee to hear the decision.

The mast was to erected in a field on the east side of Uzmaston Road, between Haverfordwest and Uzmaston village.

Strong opposition was raised against the mast, with the council receiving 53 letters of objection from local residents.

The prime concern was on health grounds, as many members of the local community feel that such structures may put human health at risk.

The public were also worried about the visual impact the pole will have on the local area, spoiling the view and bringing down property prices.

Other issues raised as objections were the poor access to the site, which is on a blind corner of the road; possible noise pollution from the generator and the proximity to a high-pressure gas pipeline in the vicinity.

The mast has been shrouded by controversy since plans were first submitted. This reached a head when Airwave O2 tried to erect the mast without planning permission on August 25th this year.

This is the second time a mast has been rejected in this area.

In July 2002, planning permission was refused for a 22 metre Airwave mast, 84 metres away, on the opposite side of Uzmaston Road on the grounds of visual impact, loss of residential amenities and poor access.

However, this victory does leave Haverfordwest urgently needing radio coverage before the police start to use the national radio communications service in December 2004.