St Marys Park, Louth, LN110EF site meeting - Find a freedom of information request

St Marys Park, Louth, LN110EF

This comment is from the Spring Fibre spokesperson:

"When planning our coverage, we review disruption to residents both in terms of installing the infrastructure and connection to properties. In this instance, running the fibre cables over ground via a telegraph pole offered the least invasive solution for providing a total 'Fibre to the property' (FTTP) service, whereas an underground installation of cable can lead to very invasive installations to residents' properties when they decide to order an FTTP service from an ISP.

A joint site visit was conducted in that area on January 25, 2023, with two members of Lincolnshire County Council and one member of Louth Town Council. Questions were raised about the nature of the work to be completed and answered on the day and we have not had any queries or follow-up from these representatives. LCC have reviewed our plans and declared themselves happy."

1.Could you please assist in directing me to the relevant LCC councillors who may have attended from LCC at Louth earlier this year?

2. Please any minutes of this meeting held at Louth?

3. Please confirm why weren't residents of St Marys Park consulted about Spring fibre's installation activity?

4. Who authorised the work to proceed?

1. The meeting was attended by SpringFibre, Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) Street Works and Permitting Team (Lee Wright) and a Councillor from Louth Town Council who can be contacted at admin@louthtowncouncil.gov.uk The purpose of the meeting was for SpringFibre to share their planned works in Louth and for those present to ask questions and raise queries. Neither LCC or Louth Town Council have power to prevent placement of new telegraph poles within the highway.

2. No minutes were taken, it is not standard practice to take minutes at operational site meetings.

3. There is no statutory requirement for the utility companies, like SpringFibre, to consult with residents, however the County Council have requested all fibre companies wishing to install telegraph poles follow the national pole and cabinet siting code of practice Cabinet Siting and Pole Siting Code of Practice, Issue 2, 2016 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)This code of practice is voluntary, however, SpringFibre have agreed to follow it and erect site notices at least 28 days’ prior to the installations. Letter drops will also be carried out to the nearest affected properties.

4. The installation of new poles is considered ‘permitted development’ within the Electronic Communications Code and the Electronic Communications Code (Conditions and Restrictions) Regulations 2003 and therefore does not require planning permission. Operators are required to notify the planning authority (districts) and County Council as Highway Authority prior to installation. LCC, as Highway Authority, does not hold power to stop the placement of poles/masts/cabinets, provided there are no highway safety concerns. A statutory utility company, such as SpringFibre, has a legal right to install apparatus in the highway under S.42 of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991. Options to reject placement in the highway where there are no safety concerns are limited, as this direction would sit directly against the central government objective to improve and futureproof telecoms infrastructure. Installation of poles is nationally recognised practiced, covered by the following legislation, Electronic Communications Code and the Electronic Communications Code (Conditions and Restrictions) Regulations 2003 and Part 16 of Schedule 2 to the Town and Country (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (GPDO).

Objections can be registered with the operator within 12 months of the installation. A notice placed on the pole will provide the contact details for the objection.

The rollout of super-fast fibre (fibre to the property) is a national government target (Department for Culture, Media and Sport / OfCom) to install fibre to the property to 85% of the UK by 2025 – and an aspiration to cover 99% by 2030. SpringFibre’s installation will be Louth’s first opportunity to receive this service. FTTP (Fibre-to-the-Premises) is a broadband internet technology where fibre cables are run all the way to the customer's premises (either overhead or underground). This means that data is transmitted at much higher speeds and with lower latency compared to other broadband technologies. Traditional FTTC (Fibre-to-the-Cabinet) which is currently in place in Louth, is where fibre cables are run to a cabinet located on the street, and then the connection is completed using traditional copper wires from the cabinet to the customer's premises. This means that data speeds are slower and can be affected by the quality of the copper wires used. FTTP will provide a much faster and more reliable service capable of doing more at any one time.