Broadband pole put up opposite war memorial in Yorkshire branded 'disrespectful'

The installation of a broadband telegraph pole opposite a war memorial in Brough has been branded disrespectful by a local councillor.

Coun Colleen Gill, of Dale ward, told of her anger when she heard the pole had been put up opposite the Welton Road war memorial earlier this week. She claimed she told contractors working MS3 how it could affect Remembrance Day services and other events.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

MS3 Chief Executive Guy Miller said they would visit the site this week to review the location and would be willing to meet with Coun Gill to discuss her concerns. The installation of the pole comes as part of the wider rollout of broadband infrastructure across Hull and the East Riding.

Thursday is set to see protesters gather outside MPs’ offices to demand they support changes to permitted development rules allowing infrastructure to be installed without local approval. Coun Gill said she went to where the pole had been put up after the owner of a shop close by alerted her to the works.

East Riding of Yorkshire Dale ward's Coun Coleen Gill at the Welton Road war memorial in Brough.East Riding of Yorkshire Dale ward's Coun Coleen Gill at the Welton Road war memorial in Brough.
East Riding of Yorkshire Dale ward's Coun Coleen Gill at the Welton Road war memorial in Brough.

The independent councillor said: “I got a call saying they were digging a hole so I shot down. I had an email on my phone from MS3 saying they we were going to respect the soldiers, I showed it to the contractors but they just carried on, saying they’d got a permit.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“I tried to explain to them that at least three times a year quite a lot of people come to the Remembrance services and other events they do and there’s just enough room for people to stand on one corner of the junction “It’s very rare that we can get a traffic order to close the road because they’re so expensive, but most people know about the services and that lots of people will be there.

“I’m angry with them, they’ve left a whole mess there. When I first heard about their plans to put a pole there I hoped they would change their mind.

“We get so many people coming to the services to pay their respects to the soldiers, there’s so many people who have connections to the armed forces here, then these cowboys come along and do this. It’s so disrespectful to the soldiers and they don’t seem to care about the people who live in an area.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad
East Riding of Yorkshire Dale ward's Coun Coleen Gill at the Welton Road war memorial in BroughEast Riding of Yorkshire Dale ward's Coun Coleen Gill at the Welton Road war memorial in Brough
East Riding of Yorkshire Dale ward's Coun Coleen Gill at the Welton Road war memorial in Brough

MS3’s Mr Miller said they tried to be respectful with the placement of their infrastructure. The chief executive said: “We aim to plan our fibre deployment with consideration and respect.

“In this case we ensured that our telegraph pole was located further away from the war memorial than the pre-existing telegraph pole is. We will visit the site this week to review the location and are happy to speak with Coun Gill about her concerns.”

Related topics:

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.