RESIDENTS living close to the new St. Patrick’s Grammar School in Downpatrick claim the multi-million pound building is impacting on their television reception.
They are seeking a meeting with school officials to discuss the matter and also concerns about a recent planning application to locate a small wind turbine on top of the building.
Residents who live at the Kilbride Road, Struell Road, Rathmore Park, Struell Road and Movilla Road areas say their television reception is particularly affected by the new school which is in line with the transmitter on Divis Mountain above Belfast.
Residents say television engineers who have visited their homes are in no doubt the school building is interfering with the analogue signal beamed from Belfast which results in extremely poor picture quality.
A spokesman for residents said problems with television reception first surfaced when a steel structure was erected as part of the new school building.
The man, who did not want to be named, said residents have tried in vain to improve the analogue signal to their homes and said a large cluster of homes are experiencing problems with their television signal.
“People have spent money on so-called high gain aerials while others have placed them in gardens in a bid to get a better reception. People have also bought devices aimed at boosting the TV signal, all to no avail,” he explained. “The only solution is to install a satellite dish, but that costs a considerable amount of money.
“People have been living in this part of Downpatrick for over 40 years and there was never an issue with poor television reception before. Problems only started when construction work started on the school.”
The residents’ spokesman said it has been suggested that a device could be attached to the school to boost the analogue signal to surrounding homes and said it is something they plan to further explore.
“In the meantime, the problem with the analogue signal persists and now we have been informed about plans for a small turbine on top of the school.
“Our concerns about this particular proposal is that the turbine will generate an electromagnetic field which has the potential to interfere with television and radio signals. Some residents fear the turbine could also impact on digital telephone signals, that’s why we are seeking a meeting with school officials.”
The spokesman said residents will also be seeking clarification on the noise associated with the proposed wind turbine and have signed a petition outlining their concern which they will present to the Planning Service.
In a statement in response to residents’ concerns, St. Patrick’s Grammar said the school is a Public Private Partnership (PPP) school and as such, its buildings are owned by Belfast Educational Services (BES) Downpatrick Limited.
“The issue of reduced or distorted television signal was made known to the school principal by a neighbouring resident and the enquiry was immediately passed on to BES Downpatrick Ltd,” the statement continues.
It adds: “The school understands that discussions have taken place between BES and the local resident. The school is currently awaiting an outcome from these discussions.
“We have requested BES (Downpatrick Ltd) to rigorously investigate the problems encountered by our neighbours as we wish harmonious relations to continue as they have for the past decades.”