PLANS to help police radio communications during major incidents are set to be rejected at Great Heck - the scene of this year's rail disaster.

BT Airwave wants to install a 20-metre high communications monopole and associated equipment cabin, in Long Lane, Great Heck.

BT chiefs said the high-tech equipment would provide a valuable airway service for police and public safety organisations - "particularly important for major incidents."

But Selby District Council planning officers have recommended the application be refused because it would have an adverse visual effect on the surrounding landscape. BT says the digital technology will ensure a high-quality mobile radio service - an asset that is not available on existing analogue radio systems.

The proposed site is near the M62, close to the scene of February's disaster when a high-speed passenger train hit a Land Rover, which had left the motorway and gone down an embankment before coming to rest on the East Coast Main Line.

Ten people died when the express then collided with a freight train.

Land Rover driver Gary Hart will stand trial at Leeds Crown Court tomorrow. He faces ten charges of causing death by dangerous driving. Selby Council planners said there was already a 15-metre high mobile phone monopole for Orange close to the application site. Permission had also been granted for another 15-metre telecommunications pole nearby.

They said BT should give more consideration to sharing one of these poles.

But a BT Airwave spokesman told the Evening Press today that it was not technically feasible to "bolt-on" the digital technology to the existing Orange mast.

He said: "We need a brand new mast with a higher elevation to guarantee the mobile radio service doesn't suddenly drop off in an emergency."

The council's planning committee chairman, Coun Jack Crawford, said: "Refusal of the application may seem ironical in the circumstances, but all we're asking is that BT look at a less obtrusive site."

District councillor Charles Watkinson, who lives next to the line at Great Heck, said: "I agree with our planners - three masts in such a small area isn't conducive to visual amenity."

Great Heck parish councillors have also objected to the proposal. They said the mast was near a children's play area and there was huge concern about the safety aspect.

Updated: 14:32 Tuesday, November 27, 2001