{"id":206046,"date":"2025-06-22T21:22:20","date_gmt":"2025-06-22T21:22:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/206046\/"},"modified":"2025-06-22T21:22:20","modified_gmt":"2025-06-22T21:22:20","slug":"the-street-that-said-no-to-9m-poles-ruining-our-views","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/206046\/","title":{"rendered":"The street that said no to ‘9m poles ruining our views’"},"content":{"rendered":"

The streets have stunning views over Stockport\u2019s countryside, with the Peak District visible in the distance.\"BrackenBracken Close offers ‘amazing’ views around Stockport and beyond.<\/p>\n

A group of neighbours in Stockport stopped a broadband firm putting up nine-metre telegraph poles on a road with spectacular views.<\/p>\n

When Brsk shared plans to put three of its poles on Bracken Close and Fernwood in Marple<\/a> Bridge, people living in the area were left in shock.<\/p>\n

The streets have stunning views over Stockport<\/a>\u2019s countryside, with the Peak District visible in the distance.<\/p>\n

Many on the streets said these views were a big part of why they moved to the area.<\/p>\n

So frustrations grew when they learned that Brsk was planning to install its telegraph poles and bring its services to the area.<\/p>\n

People in the close-knit community feared their views would be spoiled by the broadband poles and cable wires spread across the streets.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve already got options for wifi, we\u2019re not going to use them, so it\u2019s just a waste for them,\u201d said Simon Baker, one of the residents on Bracken Close.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m all for new infrastructure, but it feels like they\u2019re doing it on the cheap.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SimonSimon Baker said residents already have plenty of options for high-speed wifi.<\/p>\n

The residents decided to take on Brsk, and set about researching the law and exploring what they could do to try to change the plan.<\/p>\n

They asked Brsk why they were planning to put telegraph poles up instead of going underground.<\/p>\n

With many wifi options already available in the community, they questioned whether there was a need for more.<\/p>\n

Some feared the poles, once up, could be there forever. As one person put it: \u201cOnce it goes up it won\u2019t ever come down.\u201d<\/p>\n

George Lee, 92, has lived in the area since 1984.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cIt\u2019s going to be absolutely terrible. The problem is we don\u2019t know which way the cables are going to go, but even a pole without any cables would be intrusive on the view.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s incredible living here, it\u2019s quiet and the views around are extremely good. These poles and wires will ruin all that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"GeorgeGeorge Lee worried the cables would ruin the view from his home.<\/p>\n

Another resident, who didn\u2019t want to be named, said: \u201cThere\u2019s not a house on this road that doesn’t have a good view.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is really going to badly affect the view, I wouldn\u2019t say it\u2019s going to ruin it, but not far off.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is anger and frustration towards BRSK because of this.\u201d<\/p>\n

The broadband firm planned to use permitted development rights to install its telegraph poles.<\/p>\n

This means they can do the work without having to apply for planning permission from the council.<\/p>\n

A decision for these poles to go up was confirmed on May 8 according to Stockport council<\/a> records.<\/p>\n

But the residents refused to back down on what they said would be a major loss for the area.<\/p>\n

Scores of people told the company they would refuse to buy its services.<\/p>\n

\"ResidentsResidents told Brsk they would refuse to buy its services.<\/p>\n

Every household on Bracken Close put their names behind a letter to Brsk opposing the plans.<\/p>\n

More than 60 people on Fernwood signed a petition against the telegraph poles.<\/p>\n

People asked Brsk whether it was following a list of best practice recommendations the company had signed up to under the industry\u2019s code of practice.<\/p>\n

This states that firms should look at sharing existing poles and infrastructure before putting up new ones in order to \u2018reduce unnecessary duplication and visual impact.\u2019<\/p>\n

They also got their three local councillors for Maple North involved, and Hazel Grove<\/a> MP Lisa Smart.<\/p>\n

Coun Geoff Abel grew up in the area and was part of conversations with residents.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cIt would be a great shame if Brsk steamrolled their poles around this precious area.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Local Democracy Reporting Service contacted Brsk on June 18 asking for a response to the growing concerns.<\/p>\n

\"ResidentsResidents said the views are a major part of living in the area.<\/p>\n

The same day, the firm sent an email saying it had heard the message and would only be building a partial network, using the existing telegraph poles on Fernwood.<\/p>\n

It was the news people in the area had wanted to hear.<\/p>\n

One resident spoke of a feeling of huge relief, saying it had taken countless hours of writing emails and doing research outside of work time.<\/p>\n

Hazel Grove MP Lisa Smart said broadband firms putting up tall poles must work with local communities and listen to their views on these matters.<\/p>\n

\u201cResidents need to be able to get their views across to companies, and to be genuinely listened to,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve intervened with companies previously to do that, and am working with the residents who have been in touch recently to do the same now.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve also kept an ongoing dialogue with ministers within the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology to insist that they work with companies to deliver the highest possible standards.<\/p>\n

\u201cBetter access to broadband is clearly a good thing, but it should be delivered with communities\u2019 wishes, not against them.”<\/p>\n

\"HazelHazel Grove MP Lisa Smart supported residents.<\/p>\n

Gareth Cornelius, managing director at Brsk, said: \u201cWe can confirm that we will no longer be installing telegraph poles on Fernwood Road and Bracken Close in Marple Bridge.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile these streets already have existing Openreach poles, three additional poles were required to safely complete our network build in line with health and safety regulations, due to the distance between existing infrastructure.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe engaged with local residents and councillors as part of our community consultation process to explore solutions that would work for the whole community.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile some welcomed the prospect of improved broadband choice, others raised concerns.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn line with our commitment to the best practice recommendations under the industry code of practice, we have listened to this feedback and decided not to proceed with our rollout in this location.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur aim had been to invest in the community and bring essential broadband infrastructure to the area.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The streets have stunning views over Stockport\u2019s countryside, with the Peak District visible in the distance.Bracken Close offers…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":206047,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[748,393,4884,2465,8833,1288,2622,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-206046","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-manchester","12":"tag-marple","13":"tag-stockport","14":"tag-stockport-council","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114729120665385901","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206046","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=206046"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206046\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/206047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=206046"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=206046"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=206046"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}