Dear Supporters,

First and foremost, a huge thank you to the nearly 500 of you who have signed this petition. Your support shows the incredible strength of our community and sends a clear message that the process behind the installation of the mast outside Sketchley Hill Primary School was unacceptable.

I wanted to give you an update on the detailed work we’ve been doing in the background and outline our clear strategy for the next phase of this campaign.

Where We Are Now

We have followed the official procedures and submitted formal complaints to Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council. We have now received the final response to our Stage 2 complaint. Unsurprisingly, the council has not upheld our complaint, defending its position by stating it followed the minimum legal requirements.

 However, through this process and our own investigations, we have uncovered a mountain of evidence that proves the process was fundamentally flawed, unfair, and based on incorrect information.

What We Have Uncovered

A Factual Error in the Official Report: We have obtained official minutes from Burbage Parish Council's meeting on June 24th, 2024, which show they formally OBJECTED to the mast. Despite this, the council's official Delegated Report, which approved the mast, incorrectly states, "Burbage Parish Council has no objections to the application.". The decision was therefore based on a critical error of fact.

 The School's Concerns Were Ignored: We have correspondence showing that the school's governing body responded to the developer's initial consultation on June 20, 2024, with a detailed list of valid concerns and a request for "further conversation". This request was ignored.

 Contradictory Advice on Protected Trees: We have highlighted a conflict between the Borough Council's position on the developer's right to prune protected trees and the expert advice from the County Council's own Tree Inspector, who stated that these rights should not be used to "bulldoze through actions that the public are against".

 Our Next Step: Escalation to the Ombudsman

The council's refusal to acknowledge these failures leaves us with no choice but to escalate our case. We are now preparing a comprehensive, evidence-based complaint to the 

Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGO). The LGO is the independent body that investigates complaints of "maladministration" (i.e., when a council has done something wrong in its process). Our case, with its multiple documented flaws, is exactly what the Ombudsman is for. 

How You Can Help – We Need Your Evidence!
 

This is where you come in. To make our case to the Ombudsman and our wider campaign as strong as possible, we need to show the real-world impact of this mast and the flawed process.

If you have been affected, please help us by gathering any of the following:

Photographs/Videos of the Mast: Please take pictures or short videos of the mast as it is seen from your property (e.g., from your garden, bedroom, or living room windows). This helps us counter the council's assessment that the visual impact is not significant.

Evidence of Obstruction: The developer's service vehicles have been illegally blocking the footpath used by schoolchildren. If you see this happening, please safely take a photo or video, noting the date and time. This is vital evidence of an ongoing safety issue.

Your Correspondence: If you have had any communication whatsoever with the council, the developer (Cornerstone/WHP Telecoms), or your councillors about the mast, please share it with us.

Please send any evidence you have to me at sarahlvermeire@gmail.com . Every single piece helps build a bigger picture of the impact on our community.

Thank you again for your incredible support. This is no longer just about a mast; it's about ensuring our council follows a fair, transparent, and diligent process that listens to its residents, especially when it concerns the environment of our children.

We will keep fighting.

Yours sincerely,

Sarah Vermeire