Graham Stuart MP Secures Conservation Area Commitment from Connexin

Following a meeting he facilitated and chaired between Connexin and Beverley Civic Society, Graham Stuart, Member of Parliament for Beverley and Holderness, is pleased to announce he has secured a commitment from Connexin not to install any telegraph poles in conservation areas in Beverley.

Internet provider Connexin is expanding to Beverley, proposing to install telegraph poles to deliver high speed broadband. The company has been working with Graham for some months towards finding solutions to community concerns and has taken on board his views that communities must be properly consulted.

The Civic Society was particularly concerned about Beverley’s historic centre being marred by poles and in response to this local pressure Connexin will not pursue installing poles in the centre of town.

Beverley and Holderness has seen protests about the erection of broadband poles in Hedon. This has highlighted to Graham the need for better community engagement from the broadband providers, a stronger complaints procedure and the need for providers to share infrastructure to keep street clutter to a minimum. Graham has taken up these issues with Ofcom and the Government.

Minister for Data and Digital Infrastructure Sir John Whittingdale MP tells Graham he has heard the concerns he has raised on behalf of his constituents and is taking action to tighten up regulations to incentivise companies to build collaborative and constructive relationships between operators, site providers and communities.

Beverley and Holderness MP Graham Stuart said: “It’s right that Connexin isn’t going into conservation areas, and I’m grateful to the Beverley Civic Society for making this clear, and to Connexin for listening.

“I hope that, as Connexin starts its rollout in Beverley, the company will stand by its word on community engagement and pursue a good working relationship with the residents of Beverley, which we haven’t had in Hedon.

“I’m continuing to press Ofcom to open up KCOM’s network, but in the meantime, I am looking forward to encouraging Connexin to work with others in a meaningful fashion.”

Commenting, Connexin CEO Furqan Alamgir said, "As a Hull-based business, we're working hard to bring faster broadband to Beverley and pushing for more competitive prices for local people.

“Given the challenges of trying to access KCOM's infrastructure - which is not yet regulated to share in a similar way that Openreach infrastructure is in the rest of the country - we have chosen to build our own network locally.

“We will be running a series of drop-in sessions for local residents, communicating directly with those affected and ensuring our community relations team is available to help residents of Beverley understand the services we are bringing. We encourage you to engage with us to ensure we build out our network in the best possible way for all concerned." 

Peter Stevens of Beverley Civic Society said, "We're very grateful that Graham arranged the meeting with Connexin, and delighted that Connexin is planning to avoid erecting poles in the conservation areas of Beverley.

“We will continue to work with Connexin and Graham to protect conservation areas across the town.

"Beverley is too precious a town to be ruined by poles, and this is a victory for common sense, and the community."

Photograph ;- Graham Stuart with Michael Hildyard (left) and Richard Lidwell (right) from the Beverley Civic Society