My home worth dropped by £30k after an 82ft-phone mast was erected yards from my backyard… it is a nightmare

A homeowner is enraged after an ‘unapproved’ phone mast erected just five metres away from his fence saw his former property’s value drop by £30k. 

The ‘eyesore’ 82ft mast used for emergency services was first set up with no warning on April 18 this year in the quiet residential area in Slough. 

Furious residents claim it went up without planning permission’ or ‘forewarning’ and has led to a series of health and sleep woes, with one child’s asthma worsening due to diesel fumes from its generator.

Luciano Calvarese, 68, alleged the towering structure has meant several thousands of pounds down the drain, as the price of his house plummeted when the mast was placed directly only ten metres away from his wall. 

The property, initially valued at around £600k, was owned by his two elderly parents for 40 years until his mother’s death two years ago.

Mr Calvarese and his sister were close to finally selling the home after 12 difficult months but when news of the mast reached the potential buyers the offer was severely slashed. 

He told MailOnline: ‘It was distressing and it was a very bad time.

‘We had lost my parents and we are trying to tidy the house to sell it and all of a sudden there is a generator spewing fumes everywhere and this great big mast.

He added: ‘There were a lot of memories there. My kids grew up there and my sister’s kids grew up there too.

‘[His parents] loved that place, it was lovely and idyllic but [the mast] has visually messed it up. Every time I see it now it still makes me feel sick.’

The siblings were eventually convinced to reduce their asking price by roughly £30k as new owners raised concerns.

Mr Calvarese added: ‘I personally believe that 60 to 70 percent of the population would be put off by [the TETRA mast].

‘When the mast went up that was that. The offer initially stood at roughly £550,000 but was dropped to £520,000.

‘We had to weigh it up and take the loss – there is no way to put a claim in to anyone so we just had to bite the bullet.’

Mr Calvarese claimed the mast was erected out of the blue in the quiet cul-de-sac without any warning from the phone company or the council.

He said: ‘It [the road] used looked so lovely, and it had looked like that for as long as I can remember.

‘Then out of nowhere, with no warning, no planning permission, it was just there I came around the corner and there was this massive thing.’

Immediately assuming that the process could not have been legal, the 68-year-old went to investigate and found the eyesore uncomfortably close to his fence.  

‘I thought “Oh my god this is really close to my fence” and I took a tape measure with me,’ he said. 

The previous homeowner found the mast was only five metres away from his fence and around 11 metres away from the wall of his late parents’ home. 

However, when he went to investigate, he claimed he was greeted by ‘unfriendly’ and ‘abrasive’ workers erecting the mast.  

Mr Calvarese also claimed fumes from the mast’s generator are pumped into his garden.

‘I thought it was my lawnmower but it was fumes coming directly from [the generator] because they had put it virtually next to the fence,’ he said.

‘I was really, really angry that they can do something like without thought for people here’.

He added: ‘My neighbours where also upset and that no one would speak to us and the fact the council didn’t even know it had been erected- can you imagine?

‘I understand it’s for the emergency services but there are so many places it could have gone. It could have been placed anywhere else.’

Issuing a stark warning to others, he said: ‘People should know that this could happen to you. 

‘They can just put them up anywhere. What is done is done its up now we have to fight them and get it down. If they do put one up next to your house you will take a hit.

It comes after locals have claimed the large diesel generator fueling the eyesore has plagued the area with noise and fumes.

They say that not only have their daily lives have been impacted by the towering TETRA mast but so too has the health of some living in the area. 

Habans Jhalli, 52, said his son’s asthma was made increasingly worse by the fumes emitted from the generator, which was previously purely run on diesel. 

‘He suffers from asthma but not for years,’ he said: ‘Then suddenly when [the mast] went up with the generator his asthma got so bad we almost had to admit him to hospital.’

After months of talks and a petition which received over 300 signatures, residents were told the TETRA mast owned by Airwaves Solutions – a subsidiary of Motorola – could ‘soon’ be moved in October.

But last month Slough Borough Council refused to give the mast prior approval to be permanently placed on Bath Road – 1.2 miles away. 

The council said they were ‘not able to make such a determination’ when it came to giving permission for the mast’s permanent placement. 

It is understood that the council had issued an enforcement notice and instructed Airwaves Solutions to remove the mast. 

However, the company appealed at the last minute, which could buy them another year, before the final say is determined. 

Residents are now becoming increasingly infuriated by the towering structure and  are concerned for their welfare as a question mark remains as to when the blight will be moved once and for all. 

Mr Jhalli added: ‘We are trying to do the best for out environment by our health, but it isn’t great at all.

‘It looks horrible as you drive in. They haven’t planned it very well. It hasn’t been great now my neighbour suffers with insomnia and struggles to sleep because of it.’

Another homeowner, 56, revealed the sounds of the generator had negatively impacted her husband’s sleep, and his overall well-being. 

She said of her partner who is a distribution manager: ‘He has a very stressful job so sleep is very special to him. It’s affected his health.’ 

Mr Cooksey highlighted that the generator spewing diesel fumes was to the back of the properties and ‘pointing directly into [their] gardens.’

The environmental engineer said he had used VOC detectors – to measure particulates such as CO2 and other compounds in the air.

He alleged his measurements ‘went through the roof’, adding: ‘I’m not joking the levels were basically evacuate.

‘My partner can’t go outside when the diesel generator comes because it makes her feel ill – she’s even been to the doctors about it.’

‘The fumes seep inside the house and it stinks,’ he added 

‘Its very annoying that we can’t enjoy out lovely garden. My wife is especially proud of it – she loves the garden.’

Although solar panels have since been installed to help power the mast, it continues to have a diesel generator as a back up which continues to affect locals.   

‘When its running especially in the summer and its muggy it just pours into the garden you can’t go out its life living in a truck stop,’ he said.

‘I’m not interested in what it is. I am interested in when they are going to take it away.’

Others have been left concerned that the value of their homes following Mr Calvarese’s ordeal.

Commenting on how his ex-neighbour had to drop the price of his home Mr Cooksey said: ‘Its like hello you’ve just put this [mast] up and now I’ve lost £20-£30k. Thanks.’ 

Salvina, 52, said: ‘Who would want to buy a house when you have that [pointing to the mast] in your back garden. 

‘No matter where you are, whichever house you are in. You will see it somehow. It’s not nice to look at. Every time you are out in the garden its just there.’

She added: ‘They’re not dealing with it quick enough. It’s nearly been a year. Nobody knows who got it up how they got it up surely someone must have said yes.’  

‘There’s loads of trading estates where that could have gone up and it wouldn’t have affected so much.

‘This is a residential area. It shouldn’t have been put up here in the first place.’ 

Narina Bais, 56, has been left concerned not only for the price of her home but what it will mean for her elderly mother’s health.

‘That was a big concern [hours prices dropping],’ she said.

‘They said it wouldn’t affect it but my neighbour did have to drop his house price I own my house so it is concerning.

‘I think its the health I am worried about and the fumes, I have an elderly mum, she’s 85 in January so I worry if there are fumes if it will affect her breathing.’

A Motoral Solutions spokesperson said: ‘This is a temporary mast, and we are working with the local council to confirm a new permanent site as soon as possible. 

‘Airwave is the public safety communications network that connects the emergency services all day, every day, across the U.K. 

‘It’s a vital service for which coverage is essential, and we are very keen to resolve this in a way that delivers this essential need while meeting the community’s needs as best as possible.’

MailOnline has approached Slough Borough Council for comment.