B4RN and Lancashire Council Resolve Broadband Wayleave Dispute

A long-running dispute over wayleave agreements between the Lancashire County Council and “full fibre” UK ISP B4RN has finally been resolved, which means that the operator will be able to connect up several rural schools to 1Gbps FTTH broadband and extend their network to nearby premises at the same time.

We first reported on this situation last summer after B4RN, which is a community built and funded Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) provider, ran into a problem with the council while trying to extend their network into the communities of Caton and Halton (here).

Normally it would be too expensive for traditional operators to do this sort of work without a public subsidy, although the ISP makes up for that by encouraging local volunteers to help build the network (often in exchange for shares). On top of that they often ask local landowners (e.g. farmers) to waive their right to payment as part of a wayleave agreement (enabling the fibre to be dug through their land).

The ISP had wanted to do the same in the rural village of Caton (Caton-with-Littledale) and sought to build a main fibre optic cabinet on the Caton Community Primary School property. In return the school would gain free access to Gigabit broadband connectivity, which is nothing to sniff at.

However LCC, which may have been wary of setting a precedent for others to follow (as well as the potential for conflicts with existing School ICT contracts), wanted B4RN to pay for the wayleave and any others like it. B4RN refused and negotiations have dragged on for months, until now.

Susie Charles, Vice Chairman of Lancashire County Council, said:

“We are pleased that we have been able to work with B4RN on this important project. We also thank B4RN for their generous offer of giving local schools free access to high quality internet.

The wayleave agreements which have been completed, which allow equipment to be sited on county council owned schools as well as cables to be laid on council owned land, will mean superfast broadband will also be available to hundreds of people who live and work in these communities.

We hope these schemes will now be progressed shortly.”

Related agreements have now been signed (free wayleaves) that will allow B4RN to use a number of schools in the Lune Valley and surrounding area. The schools will in turn benefit from free fibre optic connections.

Schools Set to Benefit
Caton Community Primary School;
St Pauls C of E Primary School, Brookhouse, Lancaster;
St Wilfrid’s School, Halton;
Nether Kellet Community Primary School, near Carnforth;
St John’s Church of England Primary School, Silverdale;
Brabins Endowed School, Chipping;
St Mary’s Roman Catholic Primary School, Chipping