Angry residents are ‘fighting back’ against plans to erect telegraph poles in their neighbourhood.
The Southport-based campaign group is working hard to prevent 9-metre high wooden telegraph poles being installed by communications giant Openreach in multiple locations across the town including areas around Rookery Road.
The telegraph poles will carry FTTP (Fibre to the Premises) which will link properties up to the Ultrafast Fibre optic broadband network
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The local community group say they support having better broadband, but they believe the poles are unattractive, damaging to wildlife and less effective than the underground cables they want instead.
Furthermore, they cite a lack of consultation and are concerned the poles can be erected without any feedback from the local community.
Amongst the dozens of campaigners is Helen. She said: “It’s coercive, they’re forcing us to have it. Our choices have been taken away”.
Central to these concerns is the issue of ‘permitted planning’. This is a statutory instrument derived from the Town and Country Planning Order 2015. It means planning permission for certain types of development can be granted without the requirement for approval from the local planning authority.
Leo Evans, Liberal Democrat councillor for the Cambridge ward was in attendance to offer his support. He said: “Residents are up in arms. I have had more complaints about this than I have any other issue in the last 12 months.”
The Sefton Councillor added: “Openreach are doing this without asking, without telling anybody and anytime someone objects they come back with the same template response saying ‘we’ve looked into it, we’re gonna go ahead and do it anyway’.
“It’s important to note this is not just happening in Southport, it’s happening across the UK.”
Every resident the LDRS spoke to was keen to stress their support for improved broadband.
Brian is one member of the campaign group and he echoed the collective support for the fibre to be installed underground. He said: “Everyone here wants great broadband, but we want it done in the right and proper way – not shoddy telegraph poles.
“It’s a nineteenth century method of installing a twenty first century service.”
Helen agreed and said: “The overhead wiring is going to be an overhead cobweb. It is going to ruin the aesthetic of the village.”
“The only reason they’re not installing underground fibre is to save money and increase their profits.”
The apparent lack of resident consultation is clearly an aggravating factor for the group. One campaigner said: “They’re supposed to be a communications company, but the only comms we’ve had is a piece of paper stuck to a lamppost facing the road!”
Another campaigner, Cathy was clear on what she thought about Openreach’s signs: She said: “Older people like myself would not even notice those pieces of paper.
“How sneaky is that on people who live here and just automatically have the work start without us knowing about it?”
Openreach responded to our request for comment on the issues raised by the residents in Southport.
A spokesperson said: “We’ve received a small number of objections and our local team has met, or offered to meet, with every single resident who has objected to talk them through the plans in detail and offer reassurance that where possible we’ve planned to position the poles where they cause the least visual impact.
“We know from surveys out there already that the vast majority of people prioritise better broadband to their homes over pole aesthetics and in this case the majority of residents have welcomed the plans.”
However, the group dispute these claims. One resident said: “We’ve asked Openreach for a community meeting and they’ve declined. They won’t meet with us.”
Brian added: “On these posters, there’s no phone number or email so they’re making it difficult for people.
“At the minute, we’ve hit a brick wall with our dealings with Openreach. They just seem so determined to crash away with it.
“We’re not backing down. We are going to fight this to the end.”
As we left the group, Cathy stepped forward again and said: “I’ll tell you one idea, let’s see if those people at Openreach would like poles erected outside their house!”
The community group are supporting a petition to parliament to exclude telegraph poles from permitted planning development and have asked for the people of Southport – and beyond – to help their campaign.
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Laura Adams is a tech enthusiast residing in the UK. Her articles cover the latest technological innovations, from AI to consumer gadgets, providing readers with a glimpse into the future of technology.
