Strawberry Hill residents are gearing up for the second round of a fight against a phone mast being built within 500m of two primary schools, after a telecommunications giant appealed the council's refusal.

T-Mobile applied to Richmond Council, in March, for permission to install a 18m tower with six mobile phone antennae at Strawberry Hill Golf Club.

The new mast would have been in the southeast corner of Strawberry Hill Golf Club on metropolitan open land next to the railway line between Fulwell and Strawberry Hill stations.

At the time of the application Derek Newson, of Strawberry Hill Road, said this would put it about 450m from St James's RC Primary School, on Stanley Road, and 320m from Stanley Infant School, on Strathmore Road In April, the mast was refused because it would be detrimental to the appearance of the area.

But T-Mobile lodged an appeal against this decision earlier and the national planning inspectorate will now make a final decision.