Multiple telegraph poles appear in Plymouth streets

Going underground was "not viable"

“Unsightly” telegraph poles which have appeared in residential streets in Honicknowle have been slammed as a backward step in modern communications and unnecessary.

Six poles have been placed in the Burns Avenue and Boswell Close area surprising local residents who are angry over a lack of consultation by installers Openreach.

One resident, Ross Hambley, is so cross he wrote to the telecommunications company to quiz them on what he described as “a cost cutting” measure. He asked them to pause the work until the community had been fully informed.

He said the poles detracted from the appearance of the neighbourhood and that existing underground infrastructure already in place provided more than adequate internet and phone services.

“I am surprised by this sudden change in approach which we have been given no explanation or justification for,” he said. 

“It seems like a massive backward step to me when most cables are now underground. I thought we had moved on from the 1960s, 70s and 80s.”

Mr Hambley, who is a utilities engineer, said the general consensus among residents he had spoken with was one of “strong opposition”.

“The poles are widely seen as unsightly and many people are uncomfortable with the idea of cables being run above ground or across their properties to serve others. It just seems like a way of cutting costs.”

He said there was also “significant frustration over the lack of openness”, especially given that the only way to object to these poles appears to be via physical letter—a process that felt “deliberately obstructive and outdated”.

Openreach said the poles were legally sited and would not be removed or relocated.

In a statement a spokesperson for the company said: “We know that some people feel strongly about the installation of new poles and we understand why.”

Poles were used in areas where the copper network underground wasn’t enclosed in any form of ducting, they said.

“We’re aware of the visual impact our equipment can have and the balance between cost effectiveness, aesthetics and safety can be difficult to achieve. 

“As a result, there are times when we simply cannot avoid erecting new poles to provide upgraded services efficiently, safely and in a sound engineering manner.

 “We explored every possible option for Burns Avenue and Boswell Close, but because existing cables are buried directly in the ground, there was no other option but to install six new telegraph poles.

 “The scale and cost of civil engineering to install new underground ducts wasn’t viable and would have involved months of road closures and disruptions.  

“The extra cost would also have meant that many other homes and businesses across the city would have had to be removed from our upgrade plan.”

Wherever possible, Openreach said it used the existing network to upgrade connectivity.

£30 million was being spent on upgrading Plymouth’s telecoms network from “outdated copper infrastructure to future-proof, ultra-reliable full fibre” as part of a £15 billion, UK-wide programme.

Seventy per cent of Plymouth had already been completed with cable poles all around the city and there had been no complaints before now, said the firm.

Telecommunications companies do not need to apply for planning permission from local authorities to put up a new telegraph pole for broadband provision as this is allowed under permitted development.

Openreach said it had complied with the local authority regulations and put appropriate notices in place for five months before the work was done.

In a reply to Mr Hambley’s letter Openreach said whilst it appreciated most of the residents may feel their current broadband is sufficient, full fibre allowed them to provide higher broadband speeds to meet the growing need of the future and provide a “more reliable network”.