AS THE FORCED ROLLOUT of unpopular telegraph poles in Hedon and Preston continues, local campaigners have set out their stall for a long campaign.
As well as ongoing calls to the local authority and Ofcom to intervene, the campaign will take an increasingly national profile, as the excessive and highly undemocratic actions of network builder MS3 Networks is put under the spotlight. This will reveal how they – and similar ‘network builders’ across the country – operate without and/or side-step regulation and accountability.
Graham Stuart MP has been approached with a request to facilitate a series of meetings at the highest Government level to scrutinise ‘network builders’. Campaigners are calling for an investigation into the negative aspects of ‘permitted development’ at a Parliamentary level (the legislation that has allowed MS3 to ride roughshod over the expressed wishes of local communities). Evidence from across the country will be sought on how network builders have behaved in communities nationwide from those who protested and got ‘planted up’ to those currently campaigning against telegraph poles as permitted development.
As more places get planted up against the wishes of local populations, the demand for stopping telegraph poles will become one of calling for their removal. Hedon and Preston campaigners will be in the thick of that fight at a national level, and the seriously soiled reputation of the boycotted MS3 and its partners will reach new audiences.
A key part of the campaign is expected to be a major national demonstration held in Hedon in the New Year.
Photo: PMQs. Emma Hardy MP On the left – Middle row. ©UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor. Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0) license.
Media outlets today report on the clearest statement yet from KCOM regarding sharing their infrastructure:
https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/hull-east-yorkshire-news/hedon-pole-row-heads-westminster-8858182
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-humber-67217811
But a KCOM spokesperson said they had received no requests to access its poles or ducts in Hedon: “As we explained to Graham Stuart very clearly recently, we’re not stopping anyone from using our infrastructure – and 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. 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. Under the rules, we’re only allowed to recover our costs for providing access and our quotes have never been queried.”
This webpage on the KCOM website explains the regulatory conditions under which it operates: https://www.kcom.com/regulatory/