CONTROVERSIAL plans for a mobile phone mast look set to be approved despite residents' objections.

Families fear the 15-metre Vodafone mast, proposed for Weston Coyney Road, in Meir Hay, will be an eyesore and cause traffic safety problems.

Residents have written 38 letters of objection to the scheme, and 160 people have signed petitions against it.

Planners at Stoke-on-Trent City Council say there are no reasons for the plans to be blocked by the development management committee.

But Tom Reynolds, Labour councillor for Broadway and Longton East, believes residents are right to oppose the mast.

He said: "The principle problem is the fact that this mast would be in close proximity to residents. It will be a 15-metre high mast, right opposite some houses.

"Quite naturally, the residents aren't over the moon about that.

"Another issue is that the location is very close to the junctions with Westonfields Drive and the road on to Cinderhill Industrial Estate, and the mast, with the cabinet and everything, will add to the street clutter. This will create a road safety issue."

In their report to the development management committee, officers say the mast would not "unduly impact" on nearby residents, as their homes are angled away from the application site.

Likewise, highway engineers have judged that the mast will not affect visibility at either junction.

But Mr Reynolds believes the officers have got it wrong.

He added: "I don't think the applicant has really pursued alternative sites as rigorously as they could have done. They probably just see this site as an easy option."

A similar scheme was refused planning permission in 2010 following residents' objections.

Brookview Drive resident Karen Lownds does not think the new plans are any better.

Mrs Lownds, aged 49, said: "If anything they're worse, because this mast will be taller. It doesn't seem like they've taken our concerns into consideration at all.

"This will become an eyesore, as the cabinet will become a target for graffiti, as other ones have done elsewhere. And when that happens, who will clean it up?"

A spokesman for Vodafone said: "We look at a range of possible options to meet the demands for coverage and capacity locally. But we're talking about very low-powered antennas, which cover just a mile or half-mile radius, so they really have to be close to where people want to use their mobile devices.

"This means that the search area is going to be quite tight. It has to be near mobile devices, and that's the bottom line."