Telegraph poles installed against residents' wishes

Residents in Appleton Thorn have objected to telegraph poles erected near their homes by high-speed broadband supplier Freedom Fibre, because all their other utilities have underground connections. They have been supported by local Liberal Democrat Borough Councillor Helen Speed.

Residents of Thorntree Green had chosen to wait for Openreach to install connections underground later. It took Freedom Fibre six weeks to respond to me when I complained. At the firm's suggestion, a petition of objection was gathered and submitted at the end of March. It responded by saying this would be considered but we heard nothing more.

Imagine the residents' concern when the other day a team arrived to erect a second pole near to one erected previously in error. I went immediately to see the workmen who were sub-contractors for Freedom Fibre and asked them to stop work until they contacted Freedom Fibre, which they did. They couldn't get permission to stop work permanently but said the poles could be removed if residents made a successful appeal. I contacted Freedom Fibre directly but got no response.

I have worked closely with residents to object to these poles. The sub-contractor told me that five poles that were planned will not now be erected, but the two poles that have been erected are still a concern for residents. I will be making an appeal to ask for them to be moved to the other side of the road, adjacent to a farmer's field, where they won't be in anyone's way. This is what local people would like to happen. If Freedom Fibre had taken the trouble to communicate with myself and residents all this fuss could have been avoided.