Islington Council has rubber stamped an application to install superfast 5G antennas on top of Widnes House.
UK Broadband wanted permission to install another three antennas and two dishes on top of its existing equipment to provide 4G coverage from the top of the six-storey residential council block in Palmer Place, Lower Holloway.
Recommending they grant approval at a planning meeting on November 10, council officers told councillors on the planning sub-committee their main considerations should be whether the proposals would have an adverse impact on the character and appearance of the St Mary Magdalene conservation area, as well as considering the potential impacts on neighbours.
Within five minutes, councillors had passed them unanimously.
Cllr Paul Convery said: “This is vital, vital national infrastructure and to refuse it would be illogical.
“I think it is really important that we are granting planning permission today and paying proper notice to what public health advises us about 5G.
“5G is not dangerous. Anyone with a microwave oven in their home is exposing themselves to substantially more radio frequency electromagnetic radiation.”
The 5G technology, which provides a faster wifi speed, was only piloted in a few areas last year, including in Shoreditch.
The World Health Organisation and the International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified all radiofrequency electromagnetic fields as “possibly carcinogenic to humans”, based on an increased risk for glioma, a malignant type of brain cancer.
However, the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) has said electromagnetic wave frequencies used by mobile phones - including 4G and 5G - are safe so long as devices operate within its prescribed exposure limits.
Islington’s planning officers say the antennas on Widnes House would conform to accepted safety standards.
In September, approval was granted to install more than 150 wifi antennas on top of Braithwaite House, in Bunhill Row, and Michael Cliffe House in Skinner Street, Clerkenwell - but only on the proviso they are not used for 5G.
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