PROPOSALS for a phone mast scheme in Great Ayton have been thrown out by Hambleton planners.

Despite officers' recommendations that the application by One2One be given the go-ahead, Hambleton District Council planning committee voted unanimously against the scheme yesterday.

The mobile phone company wanted permission to put a 12.5m mast on BT land behind the police station in Guisborough Road.

Last week the Rev Paul Peverell, vicar of Christ Church in the village led calls for councillors to reject the plan.

Rev Peverell attended yesterday's planning committee to witness the outcome.

"I am very relieved and very grateful to the planning committee for its good sense," he said.

"It would have been adjoining on one of the oldest areas of Great Ayton dating back to Saxon times."

Last week Rev Peverell had also complained about the siting of the planning notice which he claimed could easily have been missed by residents.

The notice was displayed by the side of the BT site which Rev Peverell said would only be seen by vigilant dog walkers.

Reasons for his objection to the scheme were that the mast would be built in the middle of a residential area and would have an effect on the surrounding countryside views.

Planners also received 33 letters from residents opposing the scheme. They feared health risks associated with the mast as well as expressing their dislike of the scheme on aesthetic grounds. The parish council also lodged an objection.

A scheme on a prominent site north of the telephone exchange was rejected four years ago after planning officers said it would harm the historic landscape and roofscape of Great Ayton.

The council's planning officers had stated in their report to the committee that the new site behind the police station was less prominent and the effect of the mast would be mitigated by its grey colour and partial screening offered by the exchange building and surrounding trees.

The report acknowledged residents' health concerns but said present government advice was that planning authorities should continue to deal with such applications