AN administrative mess-up means that a controversial phone mast is likely to be built despite a council decision to refuse the planning application.

More than 100 people signed a petition opposing the ten-metre high mast at New House Farm, on Bingley Road, Menston.

But despite Bradford Council's decision to refuse permission it could now go ahead because of an administrative failure.

The error comes less than a year after a Leeds City Council mix-up led to a phone mast going up in Otley's green belt - despite opposition from the town council and residents.

Councillors will be told at a meeting of the Shipley Area Planning Panel today that its decision to refuse the planning application is invalid because the letter of refusal was received three days late.

Now officers are discussing possible alternative locations in an attempt to minimise the impact.

But it will be up to the phone company to decide whether it wants to bow to public opinion and put the mast somewhere else.

A report to the panel says: "The council received the application seeking prior approval on August 29, 2006 and had 56 days to inform the applicants of its decision. The council wrote to the applicants on October 24, 2006 to inform them that the local planning authority refused to grant prior approval on the grounds that the mast, when added together with the existing telecommunications mast and electricity power line, would be harmful to the openness of the green belt.

"Unfortunately, the 56-day period actually expired on October 23 and the applicants did not receive the council's decision letter until October 26. Case law and appeal decisions on this topic confirm that the authority's decision is invalid and approval is accordingly granted by default."

Council officials are now urgently reviewing the computer system which let them down because of a discrepancy in its calculation of the timescale.

And the mistake has prompted calls for a complete shake-up of the planning process for phone masts.

Coun Chris Greaves said the council had slipped up because of a series of mistakes, and a problem with the computer software which meant the clock effectively started ticking a day late.

He said: "That is obviously not acceptable and they are urgently looking at how to sort this one out."

"It is something that has to be done as a matter of urgency."

He added: "We need to make sure that we are absolutely belt and braced and that we get the decision out early."

"The main thing is that seeing as we have slipped up we should learn from it."

Coun Greaves believes the planning system is itself fatally flawed when it comes to dealing with mast applications.

"My view is that what should happen is that this whole system of prior notification should be kicked into touch, and that all the phone masts should be subject to full planning applications," he said.