Shropshire Council urged to back community’s fight against ‘unsightly’ broadband poles

Shropshire Council is being urged to work with broadband providers to prevent “unsightly” telegraph poles being put up in areas where cables could go underground.

The authority has been asked to step in after 148 residents of the Kingswood estate in Shrewsbury signed a petition against plans for poles to go up outside their homes, which they said they had not been asked for their views on.

The council says it has also been contacted by communities elsewhere in the county facing similar problems.

The petition from the Kingswood residents was raised by their local councillor Rob Wilson, who represents Copthorne ward, at a meeting of the council’s cabinet.

It reads: “We, the undersigned residents of Kingswood Estate, Shrewsbury, object to, and emphatically do not want the unsightly poles and connected wires, which Fibre Heroes are apparently about to erect, having marked their locations throughout the estate, without any prior consultation with us the residents.

“Future installation of any fibre broadband or similar system should be placed underground.”

Councillor Wilson said 105 households were represented in the petition, which is 64 per cent of the estate.

He said: “It seems an entirely backward step to install telegraph poles in such an area in 2023.

“What will Shropshire Council do to support residents to maintain the visual amenity of their neighbourhood?”

Councillor Rob Macey, cabinet member for culture and digital, said broadband providers were legally entitled to install new infrastructure without the need to apply for planning permission, and the council “has no direct influence over these commercial decisions”.

He said: “Companies that install broadband infrastructure have ‘code powers’ granted by Ofcom under national legislation to build telecommunication networks.

“Code powers are specifically in place to ensure telecommunication operators have the statutory entitlement to install, maintain, adjust, repair or alter apparatus on public and private land.

“Wherever possible broadband infrastructure installers will re-use existing infrastructure such as ducts and poles because it’s quicker, more cost-effective and less disruptive to local residents.

“Before new telegraph poles are installed, Shropshire Council encourages broadband infrastructure providers to follow national best practice by engaging with local elected members on pole deployment plans, sending letters to residents who may be impacted by new poles, and erecting site notices indicating proposed new pole locations.”

Councillor Wilson said the problem was that the providers were not acting in line with this ‘best practice’, and asked the council to push harder.

He said: “The last three points there have not been followed by the two broadband providers working in the area, and I’m aware of other areas where this has happened.

“Local councillors are picking up the pieces on this in all their individual areas, and I think it needs some direction from cabinet.

“I would ask if you could organise a round table meeting with all of the broadband providers to get some clarity over what they are going in our county.”

Councillor Macey said other councillors had raised similar concerns about work in their areas, and gave assurance that the council was engaging with providers over the issue.