A massive 82ft (25 metres) mobile telephone mast – the size of two double decker buses standing on end  – could be erected in the much-loved Victoria Rec if Kingston Council gives the plan the go-ahead.

The mast, for the benefit of passengers on the trains which use the railway line which runs on the embankment beside the Balaclava Road park, will tower not only over the numerous users of this 8 acres of green space, a stone’s throw from Surbiton town centre, but also over neighbouring homes in a conservation area.

The planning application by the Harlequin Group on behalf of mobile phone network operator EE has stunned local residents who say that most people in Victoria Avenue and Endsleigh Gardens who would be nearest the mast have not even been consulted over the plan.

Victoria Avenue resident Helen Swinburn said it wasn’t just the footprint that the mast would cover, it would also dominate the park itself.

“It just seems outrageous that they think that is an appropriate thing to put there.”

The Harlequin Group said: “The site at Victoria Recreation Ground is considered the most appropriate within the search area to install new telecommunications equipment.”

Planning details can be found on the council’s online planning database at publicaccess.kingston.gov.uk/online-applications then search for the reference 20/00809 or for Victoria Recreation Ground.

Comments about the proposal should be emailed to [email protected] before Tuesday, April 28. You should include your full name and address and the reference 20/00809 on the email.

A decision, according to the council’s planning department, needs to be made before the end of May. The application was made to the council on April 3 – a week after the lockdown was enforced, and when planning meetings were suspended.

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