A plan to put up a phone mast next door to a mosque has been rejected by the council, to the delight of residents.

The 15 metre tall tele-communications mast which would have been erected beside the Masjid-e-Umer mosque in Queen’s Road, Walthamstow by Telefonica UK was refused by planning officers on Friday (September 11).

The council received 97 letters in opposition to the plans including representations from Yusuf Hansa, chairman of The Waltham Forest Council of Mosques, who said that trustees of the mosque were also “strongly opposed to the mast”.

Jess Tully, who lives with her husband and four-year-old son in nearby Chelmsford Road, welcomed the decision as 'common sense'.

She said: “We are absolutely delighted and relieved that the council has showed their support in listening to the residents, against the pressure of a large company. It has renewed my faith in common sense.

“We do not need a phone mast in this residential area. I work from home and use my mobile throughout the day, and it is perfectly sufficient.

“We were also very worried about the pavement congestion as there have been a number of accidents in that corner in the past.

“Our son has just started at Edinburgh School and the children often spill out into the road, with existing obstacles in the pavement.

“The decision proves that local communities coming together can show a strong voice and protect our neighbourhoods.

“We are all different but we all live happily side by side and want a pleasurable and safe place to live. We live here, not the people proposing the mast.”

A Waltham Forest council spokeswoman confirmed that the application has now been refused, and the applicant notified.

“The reason for refusal is that the proposed mast and associated cabinets would, by reason of their scale and position, have a serious adverse impact upon the visual amenities of the area and street scene," she said.