BT have received objections to the siting of various road-side boxes to be
installed by Openreach to deliver fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) broadband
services in the Brighton and Hove area. Conservation groups have objected to
the location of where some of these green boxes are to be located, and this is
not the first time that Openreach have come across this problem. In both
Muswell Hill and
St Albans conservation groups stepped in to request better locations be
found for the green boxes that BT were proposing.
Some cabinets in Brighton and Hove have already been approved whilst a large
number are still in the planning process. The full list can be found at
theargus.co.uk. The objections are not a dismissal that the
new technology needs to be installed, but instead are a proposal that better
locations be found. The green boxes to be installed are similar to existing
street side cabinets but are taller and wider than existing units, with some
models being 1.6m tall.
“There is no doubt we have to move with the times and that we need
super-fast broadband, especially in a vibrant city like Brighton.Having said that, I’m not convinced the solution put forward by BT is the
right and proper one. We are not saying no – we just want to be consulted.”Stephen Neiman, The Regency Society
Thankfully, BT are responsive on these kinds of issues, even though they
deem the equipment being installed as “essential”.
“We do fully appreciate the concerns of the conservation and amenities
committees regarding the siting of our super-fast broadband cabinets in certain
parts of the city.We are committed to working with local authorities to minimise the visual
impact of the new street cabinets, and have done this successfully in other
conservation areas.”BT Spokeswoman
Hopefully this won’t produce any delays to the roll-out of fibre in Brighton
which is expected to go live in December 2010.
Update – 07/06/2010
A map showing the locations of the cabinets in question can be found here.
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Sod Brighton in that case, a lot of the population may quite enjoy it anyway, move on to the next areas.
This is the problem in Britain and why we lag everyone, BT should stick to their planned sites or just miss the area out altogether
don’tcha just love the nimbys? anyway it isn’t superfast its only fttc. Does anyone on here know if these cabinets can be reused for ftth? ie are they going to be a permanent fixture?
Publish the names of those who are fighting the planning applications so that there neighbours can let them know what they think about them holding back on FTTC rollout.
Paint them pink, i’m sure they would agree to that 🙂
LOL at above comment… Sod em move on they can wait till everywhere else is done now.
Sorry about the large empty space, not sure why it happened
Imagine this sort of palava/hassle/bureaucracy for the tens of thousands of each FTTC 6foot high cabinet (side note: are they getting barriers to stop damage from cars etc?) Any Council with any sense should a) be working with BT b) pre designating preferred locations for them c) talking to local residents
It’s not bloody hard.
Are they following normally planning process? If so how are they ignoring anyone. They plan, they receive feedback, they work with. Normal planning process doesn’t entail knocking on doors and seeking permission. BT didn’t write the planning process.
These cabinets are only a transitional solution anyway and will soon become obsolete because of future FTTP and the needs for higher broadband speeds. So no longterm harm is done by rejecting these bulky cabinets.
it isn’t like they are hugely ugly. f you don’t want a big green box cover it with flowers or something
I liked the comment in the Argus “The cabinets are larger than existing telephone exchanges” Guess the NIMBY’s have never seen the exchange building Hove.
JN – apart from there being no reason for higher speeds beyond 100M for the vast majority of users (where would you store the data?) these cabinets are essential for improving the broadband service.
So you plan is to forget FTTC and wait 10 years for FTTP funding?
Good for them. As always it’s heart warming to see that there are still people around who care for their environment. It might be urban but it doesn’t have to be ugly 🙂
I would like to add however that I think it unlikely anyone on my estate in Brackley would object so if there are delays feel free to send a few cabs to SMBY 🙂
Solution … Old PO in Canterbury is for sale right next door to the exchange. Now if only I had a few bob!
planning permission is not required for plant below 15m in height, except in conservation areas.
The linked new item at the paper is titled “Objections to broadband boxes in Brighton and Hove conservation areas”
Have VM ever put cabinets underground?
If people object the other option is forget it.
Yes there are VM cabinets that are that tall, yes VM are exempt most of the time as BT are as are every, yes there are many VM cabs in conservation areas, there are usually more VM cabinets in an area than BT ones due to needing intermediate amplification though these are of varying size and most are much smaller than 1.6M.
I think you will find it makes sense to locate the FTTC cabinets close to the existing ones. Typically a few meters away to reduce the cost of duct. Some are located on the opposite side of the road.
‘My’ street cabinet is on Eaton Road, about 100 metres from Hove exchange. I live in the Willett Estate Conservation Area and the new cabinet will be installed up against a brick wall at the side of a house. It’s a much neater installation than the original BT box which is right beside the kerb. Luckily for me ‘my’ cabinet is one of the ones that has been given the go-ahead because the planning delegation decreed that “prior approval IS NOT REQUIRED.” Great news indeed but I fear long delays for the other 50+ sites that still have to be approved of the conservationists have their way.
“Hopefully this won’t produce any delays to the roll-out of fibre in Brighton which is expected to go live in December 2010.” Brighton Withdean and Hove are part of the roll out but Brighton Kemptown which covers central Brighton isn’t part of this tranche of the FTTC rollout.
Crikey. In about 50 years time, when they’ve all become part of the landscape but BT don’t need them anymore, the same groups will want to slap a listed building order or something, just like happened with the red phone boxes…
Technology and humanity shapes the landscape not the other way around. All human buildings of any kind are artificial.
@JNeuhoff – think you’re being a little optimistic there. There’s probably a reason why FTTC is branded as “BT Infinity” 🙂
I lice in Birmingham and if BT want to install FTTC in my road they can shove the new box wherever they want!
Bend over then, FTTA it is!
Have added a link to a map of the located to this article.