WORRIED councillors have called for a ban on wireless transmitters on top of public buildings to be kept in place because of health fears.

Politicians from all parties at Southend Council said “nothing had changed” since the embargo was brought in 12 years ago, despite Tory chiefs wanting to overturn it.

They claimed fears telecommunications technology could cause health problems if it was installed too near to people’s homes and schools had not been disproved by a decade of scientific research.

Peter Wexham, a Liberal Democrat councillor for Leigh , said: “I would ask: what has changed? Nothing has changed.

“We are in the same situation we were when this policy was approved the first time.”

David Garston, a Tory councillor for Southchurch, added: “There has been no conclusive proof they can cause problems, but equally there’s been no conclusive proof they don’t.”

Earlier this year, council bosses revealed plans to hook up a wireless network covering the entire borough by installing transmitters at strategic points. The move would allow customers to search the internet at any spot within Southend, including its beaches and parks, on laptops, smartphones and tablet computers.

While paid-up residents would be able to surf the entire internet, visitors may be given limited access to the council’s website or other tourist information to find their way around.

Andrew Moring, the Tory councillor responsible for support services, argued the ban on transmitters had been imposed in a different era and there was now “12 years of evidence to fall back on”.

He added: “The world has moved on, and we must move on too.”