Amblecote and Brierley Hill residents vow to continue protests against 'unwanted' pole technology.
Residents in Amblecote and Brierley Hill have vowed continue plans against what they say is unwanted work to install pole based fibre technology in their area after a stand off with contractors trying to install them.
On Monday, members of Amblecote Campaign Team (ACT) based around the Withymoor Estate successfully turned away lorries from BC Communications that were trying to deliver poles on behalf of Brsk. Residents say a near 1,400 signature petition has been delivered to Brsk bosses and the company is trying to roll out the unwanted poles to areas which have already rejected them, though they are not against new technology.
The company claim they are installing the poles as planned and with full permissions and approval of local councillors
Police were called to Heronswood Drive on Monday but left after a short while after a peaceful protest.
Today, deliveries of the poles are planned to Norbury Drive and Aldeford Drive in Brierley Hill and members of ACT said they will be there to stop them again.
They have the support of Stourbridge MP Suzanne Webb who has been an outspoken opponent of the company, which has tried to install the technology across the borough, including in Kingswinford, Wall Heath and Hayley Green.
A spokesperson for ACT said they were well organised and would continue to resist the installation of the poles in their area as the overwhelming majority of residents were against them.
She said: "Brsk have grossly exaggerated how many people they have signed up to install the technology in their homes – we say at the most it is one or two people in the whole area and they seem to take that as a green light to roll it out everywhere.
"Other protests have been held successfully in other areas where it has proved unwanted and we also have the support of the MP on this issue.
"The company are aggressive in both their marketing and their after sales where they seem to think they can go against the wishes of the large majority of residents, some of whom have not actually been consulted when it is decided to role out the infrastructure. We are well organised and vehemently against the poles though I would stress we are not against upgraded technology, just not in this form.
"We are well organised and will continue to stand tall against it as we believe and can prove it is unwanted in the majority of cases."
Suzanne Webb said: "I have met various times with the management of Brsk as I wanted to ensure that they were aware of the strength of objections. I explained that continuing with the installation of poles is not good business as rather than attract customers, is just going to alienate a whole community. Despite this they seem determined to continue with their current approach.
"I am so disappointed by the actions of the company, and I will continue to support the campaign to protect our community from the blight of these telegraph poles."
A spokesman for Brsk said: "The work that commenced had been planned and communicated to residents well in advance, and we are in an engagement period with the ward councillors to find a way forward.
"We know that some people feel strongly about poles and wherever possible we will use existing network to build our broadband upgrades, and additional poles are only used to infill where network doesn’t exist.
"We understand that the actions of the residents weren’t aggressive or threatening, however it does put a drain on resources for services such as the police to be called out and be involved, and we hope that we can avoid these instances in the future.
A statement from Dudley Council said: " BRSK have been granted a licence to undertake works on the highway by the Department for Transport (DfT), which legally defines them as a Statutory Undertaker, giving them permission to undertake street works to “install, replace, maintain, and renew” apparatus in the highway.
"While they do have to comply with the regulations under the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 and the Traffic Management Act 2004, Dudley Council cannot unreasonably withhold permission to undertake their works - to do so would be an illegal act by the council.
"The installation of telegraph poles is generally exempt from planning permission (through the General Permitted Development Order 2015).
"As planning permission is not required, no planning enforcement can be undertaken. The location of poles can only be objected to by the Highway Authority in relation to highway safety issues, however, none so far have required such action."