Founded in 1938, Stoneleigh Methodist Church has always considered itself to be at the heart of the local community. The site for the Church was chosen as the highest point locally, and we were known for some time as ‘The Church on the Hill’. Since the very beginning our focus has been on the use of the Church Centre as a community resource with Youth groups, Fellowship groups, badminton and table tennis, as well as regular Sunday Services and other ecumenical activities; children’s birthday parties at weekends are especially popular these days.

Recently we were asked if we would host a Telecoms site to enhance the performance of the local mobile phone network. As the proposal would not change the look of the Church from the street, we agreed to give the request consideration as we felt that this was an opportunity for the Church to serve our community with limited consequences. We also read the NHS report on possible health concerns, published on-line, which you may also like to consult.

Planning consent by Epsom & Ewell Council is not required but they have been notified, as have the local Councillors, and notices of the proposal were displayed in the local streets in March 2017. Since then the Council have removed the notification from the public record on the grounds that no permission is required (under the Telecoms Act).

We understand that Vodafone have shown an interest in site on our Church. This would be a benefit locally as, generally speaking, the other 3 main networks have good coverage whereas some Vodafone users report problems.

The original proposal was for an installation on the front of the Church; however a site visit soon established that mounting the antennae and the associated equipment cabinets at the back would be almost as effective and much better aesthetically. The ‘artist’s impression’ gives an idea of how the antennae would just ‘peek’ over the roof-line at the back. From a few houses behind the Church the equipment cabinets will be obvious to those residents who do not have a tree screen at the bottom of their gardens, which is why we have insisted on the cabinets being suitably painted to blend in with the Church brickwork.

24/12/17 Update – negotiations are progressing and several improvements to the visibility of the equipment have been suggested and are currently being considered by the telecoms proposer. If agreed, only the antennae and supports poles will be visible to our neighbours. Confirmation is expected early in the New Year.

If you have any questions that we’ve not covered, please contact our webmaster – the changes made recently are a direct result of suggestions made by our neighbours and we are very grateful for their interest.