Diana Johnson MP Petitions UK Parliament to Tackle Telecoms Poles

The Labour MP for Hull North, Dame Diana Johnson, has presented a petition to parliament – signed by residents of Hull North – that urges the government to make it a requirement for new telecoms poles to apply for local planning permission and consult residents before being built – risking delays to the gigabit broadband build.

At present a mass of network operators are currently rolling out a new generation of gigabit-capable broadband networks across the UK (Summary of UK Full Fibre Builds). The most expensive and disruptive way of doing this is by digging trenches along roads and pavements, although most operators are also deploying plenty of poles (telegraph / telecoms poles) – most of which are made of wood and stand around 8-9 metres high.

In some cases, the ability to deploy poles can even make the difference between an area being covered by a new full fibre (FTTP) network or not (i.e. underground builds are not always economically or practically viable). But poles also have a growing tendency to divide public opinion (examples here, here, here, here, here and here), particularly when built into an area that previously only enjoyed the benefits of underground infrastructure.

Opponents of such poles, who frequently complain about their visual appearance, often also like to highlight concerns over their durability due to the risk of damage from major storms – a risk that many would suggest is only going to increase due to climate change. Last year, Openreach stated that 650 poles were “badly damaged and need replacing” during a series of storms (here), but that’s a fraction of the 4 million they manage across the UK.

In the past, it was harder to deploy new poles, but the rules have long since been softened to aid the rollout of faster broadband and mobile networks. Today poles are built using Permitted Development (PD) rights, which means they don’t have to go through the usual planning process and can pop up quite quickly, often without residents getting much of a say. Operators usually only need to give the most minimal of prior notices (e.g. sticking a notice to a lamp post).

The new petition effectively proposes to reverse that and re-introduce a lot of the red tape by “[requesting] that the House of Commons urge the Government to make statutory requirements for designated communications network operators to apply for permission to the LPA on any proposed installation of telegraph poles and for the LPA to consult with affected residents before issuing any permissions.”

Dame Diana Johnson said (House of Commons):

“I rise to present a petition signed by residents of Hull North regarding the installation of telecommunication telegraph polls. Many of my constituents in Hull North, and indeed residents across the country, have found telegraph poles erected close to their homes, outside their front gates or in the middle of the pavement, without their permission or any advance notice.

With no requirement for local consultation, there is no opportunity for residents to have their say. This petition reflects the strength of feeling of many residents, both in Hull North and across the country. The situation needs to be challenged.”

At this point it’s worth noting that Diana Johnson is also the MP who tabled a new private members bill last year – Telecommunications Infrastructure (Consultation) Bill, which proposes similar changes (here). But it probably won’t get very far without government support. The new petition could thus be seen as lending some weight to the argument and further raising the profile of related concerns.

The Government similarly seems unlikely to support anything that would reverse the changes they’ve made to planning and thus disrupt or delay their £5bn Project Gigabit broadband programme, which recently started to award its first batch of major rollout contracts for rural areas (i.e. operators have all based their cost and build models on the existing flexibility).

We should point out that poles are a common sight across much of the UK, and you can find plenty of people who would be more than happy to accept their deployment if it meant gaining access to a full fibre network. Likewise, there seems to be no shortage of studies claiming to show how the provision of faster broadband networks – via either pole or underground cables – tends to result in house values going up, rather than down.

Naturally, we’d all prefer it if broadband and mobile infrastructure was totally invisible, but that’s not always economically feasible because underground deployments tend to be significantly more expensive. In some areas, the choice is thus between either having poles or no fibre at all.

Back in 2021 we asked 657 of our readers whether they would accept poles to get FTTP, if the alternative meant having to wait years longer for the service, and 71% said they’d take the poles. More recently we asked 400 readers if, when looking to buy a new house, the existence of poles in the street outside to carry fibre would be a major negative factor in their decision – 77% said no.