Cheryl Oldroyd

Cheryl Oldroyd is a campaigner and broadcaster who ran a successful media campaign in the summer of 2007 preventing O2UK from erecting a mobile phone mast in a residential area on Canvey Island in Essex.

Miss Oldroyd received a letter from the phone company proposing their plans in July 2007 and immediately called the local paper, the Castle Point Echo, who ran a story and featured her standing with her daughter by the proposed site, a small green in the heart of a residential area of Canvey Island. Following this she was inundated with local requests for more action, despite suffering health problems including anxiety, agoraphobia that had disabled her for almost seven years, she decided to gather a petition by asking local neighbours, leaving copies in local shops and trying in every possible way to gain signatures. The response was so overwhelming Miss Oldroyd succeeded - despite her limitations - in getting almost seven hundred signatures. The petition was presented to parliament.

She also made a series of films for Five News: Your News, which made the issue national. In addition to this she featured on Essex FM's podcast in August of 2007 and took part in two radio interviews on the subject and made headline radio news as well as being in several features by The Essex Enquirer who also ran a series of stories on her battle.Later in the same month she rallied a large group of neighbours to take part in a group photograph at the proposed mast site to showing the sheer volume of local protesters, stating this was an 'intelligent protest'.

Cheryl Oldroyd also ran an online campaign site.

In October 2007 the planning meeting was held and all attending councillors unanimously voted to reject the proposal for the mast.

Exhausted by the toll the campaign had taken on her health, she did not attend the deciding meeting, opting instead to advertise the decision day via radio to encourage supporters to rally. On the deciding night she remained at home with her daughter and waited by the phone. After the victory Channel Five News featured her win and hailed it as a victory for Five News , because their Your News feature had ensured the tiny island of Canvey had got its voice heard by the whole country.

Cheryl Oldroyd still lives on Canvey Island with her daughter Jessica.

ee also

Mobile phone radiation and health

References

* Essex Gazette. (2007-07-05). " [http://archive.gazette-news.co.uk/2007/7/5/253367.html Mum ready to fight mobile phone giant] ". Newsquest Media Group. Retrieved 2008-05-02.
* House of Commons Hansard Debates. (2007-07-24). " [http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmhansrd/cm070724/debtext/70724-0022.htm Telephone Masts] ". Retrieved 2008-05-02.
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