The ability of Openreach to install overhead wires across roads in Southport with little consultation with local residents is “unacceptable” according to Sefton Council.
Openreach has met with some fierce protests from people living in the town this year, with several occasions of angry home owners using their cars to block their roads and prevent access.
Openreach has been installing overhead cables to provide ultrafast broadband in Southport, which it says “will create huge benefits for families and businesses in the area for decades to come”.
Local people have asked for the cables to be installed underground, but the company insists the costs are too prohibitive.
Sefton Council has held some meetings with Openreach in a bid to enable more consultation and discussions with local people, but admits its ability to prevent work taking place is “limited”.
At the full Sefton Council meeting, Southport councillor Mike Sammon asked: “I have been informed by the pole objections team at Openreach that there are discussions on going at a senior level within Openreach and yourself on the telegraph poles being installed in Southport.
“These telegraph poles are deeply unpopular and are the single most frequent issue I have been contacted about by residents since being elected in May.
“I have been working hard with residents and cross-party with members of this council to oppose them. Please can you give a report on your discussions with Openreach?”
Sefton Council Leader, Cllr Marion Atkinson replied: “The Council is aware of the concerns of residents in relation to the erection of telegraph poles in Southport by Openreach.
“However, the legal basis for the Council to oppose such apparatus is significantly limited.
“This is because such apparatus is classified as permitted development under the Town and Country Planning Order.
“Some types of communication infrastructure permitted under the development order require ‘prior approval’ by the Council (such as mobile phone masts), however, broadband infrastructure (poles, cabinets and cables) do not require such approval.
“The Order states that the siting and appearance of such poles must be minimised so far as is practicable, and whilst the Council can raise concerns about the impact of such proposals on the harmful effect on the street scene and character of the area they cannot insist on less intrusive infrastructure being installed, whilst other requests can be ignored by the operator if it is felt unreasonable.
“A recent example of this is where the Council contacted Openreach about their proposed poles in Southport, asking them to try and install underground cables.
“However, Openreach responded by saying it was too expensive to do this due to the lack of suitable underground infrastructure, and so it would not be practicable.
“The Council could not therefore take this any further.
“The Order does not specify that consultation should be carried out with the Council.
“This provides an opportunity to raise concerns, but these can be largely ignored if it is felt that the LPA’s requests are unreasonable.
“The Regulations do not require operators to consult with residents.
“The Council recognises that Southport has a unique Victorian seaside townscape which has been largely free of any overhead cables or above ground apparatus for many years.
“This has allowed Southport to enjoy a visual amenity of its streets and townscape by having very few telegraph poles and overhead cables which would normally create a ‘spiders web’ spoiling the visual amenity of its street.
“The view of this Council is that the current arrangement is unacceptable in that both the Council and residents seem powerless to exert any control over such matters due to the flexibility given by the various Acts and Orders.
“Whilst it is recognised that telecoms is a high Government priority, it is felt that changes should be made to require operators to properly and openly consult with residents and the Council and to act on concerns identified, where this would help minimise any harm created by them.
“I have previously written to the department for Science, Innovation and Technology Operators in May 2024 seeking improvements to the way operators consult with Local Councils and residents and to promote better ways to provide infrastructure that is less intrusive such as underground installations.
“Furthermore, I wrote to Openreach to pause works in order to allow discussions to be had on ways to improve proper and more open consultation with residents.
“A meeting was held between the Council and Openreach in May 2024 relating to the street works permitting process and to better understand their programme for improved community engagement.
“This meeting was positive and whilst Openreach continue to pursue the installation of poles across Southport, they have agreed to meet via the Southport Operational Group to further improve communication and understanding of Openreach’s programme for the rollout of faster broadband in the Southport area.
“In addition to the above, the Cabinet Member for Housing and Highways has written to the new Secretary of State to request that consideration be given to an improved process for dealing with the installation of broadband infrastructure within the Development Order. As a bare minimum the Local Planning authority suggest that they make the requirement to notify the Council of their intentions and to give an opportunity to determine whether their approval is required prior to the installation of such poles, and to evidence any argument they put forward to suggest it is not feasible.
“Such changes would represent a significant improvement to the current system if it were to be agreed.”
In a comment earlier this year, Openreach said: “Bringing ultrafast broadband to Southport will create huge benefits for families and businesses in the area for decades to come, as well as a welcome boost to the local economy.
“Wherever possible we use existing networks to build our broadband upgrades but in Southport cables are mainly buried directly in the ground. The scale and cost of civil engineering to install new underground ducts throughout the area just isn’t viable and would involve months of road closures and disruptions.
“We know that people feel strongly about poles and understand why. Our local team has engaged extensively with local residents, and also explored every possible option for the build.
“Southport has one of the lowest percentages of full fibre broadband coverage in the UK and the existing copper network there is increasingly unreliable, it also takes longer to repair because of the way it was buried historically, so to halt this upgrade would deprive thousands of other local people who want the new technology, both in Southport and surrounding communities.
“We’ve communicated our decision to continue the build by using our existing network wherever possible and positioning any new poles sensitively.”
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