Hedon broadband pole row: Row over broadband poles being put up in Yorkshire town heads to Westminster

Resident in Hedon opposed to the installation of poles by MS3 and other providers have been invited to speak to MPs in Parliament next month.

A spokesperson for the local Going Underground campaign group said they wanted to spearhead a national campaign to stop the excesses of installations under current permitted development rules.

Beverley and Holderness MP Graham Stuart said he has now referred KCOM to Ofcom on competition grounds and was working to get MS3 and other rival providers to share infrastructure.

He added he had written to Digital Infrastructure Minister John Whittingdale calling for the Government to make them share it if they cannot reach a deal themselves. But a KCOM spokesperson said they had received no requests to access its poles or ducts in Hedon while one speaking for MS3 said it was working to minimise disruption.

The MP’s comments, including saying he was opposed to the ugly and unnecessary poles, came after he was confronted by locals in Hedon Market Place on Saturday (October 21).

Around 40 people attended Mr Stuart’s surgery, putting forward claims of a lack of information or consultation about the installations and concerns about locations, according to campaigners.

It followed local pole resistance efforts which began with protests in September and saw people try to block installations in recent weeks, resulting in Humberside Police officers being called out. Last Thursday saw protesters travel from Hedon to MS3’s head office in Hessle’s Priory Park to present a boycott pledge signed by more than 1,000 people.

The pledged commits them not to use the services of any provider which uses telegraph poles rather than underground cables. Mr Stuart said in a statement companies should be able to use existing ducts as they can everywhere else in the country.

The MP said: “That’s why I’ve made clear to KCOM that it should be making it easy, quick and cost effective for competitors to use their infrastructure. And I’ve referred them to Ofcom to highlight the sorry state of broadband competition in the East Riding.

“If we must have poles to give everyone access to broadband that doesn’t cost the earth, I don’t want a single pole more than we need. I’m working with other MPs to put more pressure on our councils to find a proper, long-term solution to infrastructure sharing.”

But KCOM’s spokesperson said they were not stopping any other company from using their infrastructure.

The spokesperson said: “As we explained to Graham Stuart very clearly recently, we’ve not had any requests for access to our poles or ducts in Hedon. If MS3, or any other provider, want to apply for access to our network in Hedon we’d be happy to work with them and, indeed, we’re legally required to provide access to our infrastructure and process access requests quickly and efficiently.

“As we have said on numerous occasions, if other providers don’t agree with the prices we quote to access our network, then they are welcome to disagree and raise a dispute with Ofcom. To date, no other provider has done this. We sympathise with local residents who are having unpopular poles installed in their streets but unfortunately that’s the decision of other providers and theirs alone.”

MS3’s spokesperson said it took its community responsibilities seriously, including engaging with MPs like Mr Stuart.

The spokesperson said: “We comply with a dedicated code of practice for the siting of telegraph poles. That includes specific guidance for installing in conservation areas, on private land and to allow residents ample access to their properties. We listen to all valid feedback on pole location, and residents can reach out via our website if they have any concerns.

“We appreciate conversations between local MPs, competitors and other members of government remain ongoing, and we’re happy to be a part of any wider discussion on pole deployment. For now, we’re pleased to continue our work rolling out competitive full fibre, which is already saving residents more than £1m per year.”