I READ with interest that Swindon Borough Council is to pay compensation to house owners whose property has been deemed to have lost value as a result of the erection of a nearby mobile phone mast.

But where does this put tenants, who have no capital value in their home?

I ask this as a telephone mast 100ft high is planned by British Rail on a site adjacent to an estate of tenanted pensioner bungalows.

No planning permission is required apparently a planning error by Swindon landed them with the responsibility for compensation but should this absolve British Rail from providing compensation for the aggrieved occupants?

After all, the pleasure of one's home lies as much in its environment as in its capital value and, as was recognised by one of the Swindon residents who referred to the loss of her view.

The trouble is that tenants are not considered to be on the same level as owner occupiers.

It is an attitude that goes back to the 1980s when home ownership was seen as a financial investment not a home.

It is a policy that has led to the present shortage of affordable housing.

PAMELA DUVEEN

Great Bedwyn