Home » LightSpeed Broadband Issues » Tamworth Residents Are Fighting Back: Protest Signs Appear on LightSpeed Broadband Poles
Tamworth Residents Are Fighting Back: Protest Signs Appear on LightSpeed Broadband Poles

LightSpeed Broadband’s rapid installation of telegraph poles across Tamworth has sparked outrage among residents. In response, protest signs have begun appearing on the very poles they oppose. This grassroots action highlights growing frustration over the company’s disregard for local concerns and the lack of consultation before erecting these structures.

Why Are Residents Protesting?

Tamworth residents are angry that LightSpeed Broadband is installing poles without their permission, often outside their homes. Many argue that these structures ruin the look of their streets, lower property values, and create unnecessary visual clutter. Other broadband providers, like BT and Virgin Media, have used underground cables to avoid these issues—so why won’t LightSpeed do the same?

Protest Signs: A Community Response

Frustrated homeowners and community members have started attaching signs to LightSpeed Broadband’s poles, expressing their opposition. Some messages call for the poles to be removed, while others urge neighbours to complain to the council or their MP. This form of peaceful protest is sending a clear message: Tamworth will not accept these poles without a fight. You can see LSN carved into the the pole which stands for !LightSpeed Network”.

Does LightSpeed Broadband Need Permission?

One of the biggest concerns is that LightSpeed Broadband does not need permission from residents or even the local council to install poles. Thanks to legal loopholes, telecom companies can put up these structures under permitted development rights. This means communities have little say in the matter—unless they push back.

What Can You Do?

If a LightSpeed Broadband pole has appeared outside your home, you’re not alone. Here’s how you can take action:

Contact Your MP – Let Sarah Edwards MP know how this is affecting you.
Complain to Staffordshire Council – Demand they pressure LightSpeed for accountability.
Join the Community Protest – Add your own sign or support others raising awareness.
Raise Awareness Online – Share photos and updates on social media to spread the word.

Will LightSpeed Listen?

LightSpeed Broadband has ignored many resident concerns, refusing to provide clear answers about why some streets get underground cables while others get poles. However, public pressure has already made an impact in some areas, and if enough people push back, they may be forced to reconsider their approach.

Make Your Voice Heard!

Tamworth residents are showing that they won’t be ignored. If you want to stop these poles from taking over your neighbourhood, take action today.

🔹 Complain to Sarah Edwards MP
🔹 Submit a complaint to Staffordshire Council

Together, we can fight back against unwanted infrastructure and protect our community!


10 responses to “Tamworth Residents Are Fighting Back: Protest Signs Appear on LightSpeed Broadband Poles”

  1. Gaynor Parnell Avatar
    Gaynor Parnell

    I live in meadow park Tamworth l am annoyed and so are a lot of the residents about light speed erecting poles and cables all over the St which look unsitley and devalue our houses we were not informed of this surely we have a say in what is attached to our houses they have not attached the cables yet please stop them l am begging you before they do

    1. admin Avatar

      Hi Gaynor thank you for speaking up and voicing your annoyance about LightSpeed Broadband. It means a lot that there are others out there who feel the same way. It will take all of us to complain to Sarah Edwards our MP, Staffordshire Council and LightSpeed themselves. Some residents of Tamworth have won the fight and forces them to bury the cables underground – it is possible, we just need to take action.

      1. Amarpreet Sandhu Avatar
        Amarpreet Sandhu

        Hi,
        I live near St Peter’s close, Tamworth. I was never informed about these cable poles and they have started to install them. They are clearly obstructing view and are installed against our fence. This is not right. This needs to stop because this will also impact value and view to our property. It’s unacceptable that this has taken place. This will need to stop.

  2. Emma Deegan Avatar
    Emma Deegan

    I’m not alone then!!
    Tamworth we need to campaign & protest against these ugly, horrid, old fashioned looking wooden poles. This has gone up right outside my house inches from my boundary without warning, what a shock I had! I actually feel sick. I was hoping to wake up this morning to find it was all a bad dream. Completely ruins the look of the street & will definitely de-value my house, literally on my doorstep. It’s a real eyesore, if I was to fall it would be straight through my living room window and now the only thing I can see looking out from my property!
    Something has to be done!

  3. Deborah Bickford Avatar
    Deborah Bickford

    How for the love of all that is holy in 2025 has this been allowed to happen !! These monstrosities are blighting people’s lives and properties with no word of warning ! If you can cut down a 500 year old oak tree in London without notice or due diligence why can’t we just take a chain saw to these ! Has anyone complained about there broad band speed ?? NO !! Get rid of the ASAP !

  4. Alexander korniak Avatar
    Alexander korniak

    What actually happened (the short story)
    We woke up one morning in early April to find a 9-metre brown pole planted on the verge outside our 1980s cul-de-sac. No prior letter through the door, no yellow planning notice on a lamp-post—nothing. A day later Lightspeed’s contractors bolted a fibre distribution box halfway up the pole and disappeared.

    Our estate was purposely built with all services underground; there has never been a telegraph pole here. To make matters stranger, every house already enjoys Virgin Media Gig1 (≈1,130 Mbps) on a coax-fibre hybrid that’s been stable for five years. In short, we don’t need a second network on sticks, and certainly not one that now doubles as a handy ladder over our garden walls.

    When residents asked Lightspeed for the statutory “hand-delivered” notice they claimed to have distributed weeks earlier, the company could not produce a single copy. Digging further, we discovered the pole relies on blanket permitted-development rights that let telecoms firms bypass normal planning unless the community objects quickly and in writing.

    That discovery triggered the campaign below.

    Objections already lodged

    Prior-Approval objection – operator failed to give the planning authority 28 days’ notice (GPDO 2015, Sch 2 Part 16).
    Article 4 direction request – would strip telecoms PD rights from our street so future kit needs full planning permission.
    Street-works / safety report – pole on the footway is both a climb-assist for burglars and an obstruction for push-chairs and wheelchairs.

    Seven further routes we’re pursuing
    # Route Legal hook Why it helps
    1 Paragraph 77–80 ECC objection Electronic Comms Code Must be served within 2 months; demands removal if land enjoyment is prejudiced.
    2 Underground-first rule Reg 6, ECC C&R Regs 2003 Operator must prove an overhead line was the only reasonably practicable option.
    3 Breach of 2016 Cabinet & Pole Siting Code DCMS best practice Requires real community engagement; Ofcom can investigate.
    4 Complaint to Ofcom s.94 Comms Act 2003 Regulator can issue compliance directions or fines.
    5 Private-nuisance claim Common law Injunction / damages for loss of amenity or property value.
    6 Highway obstruction s.130 Highways Act 1980 Highway authority must act if the pole narrows or endangers the footway.
    7 Equality-Act challenge Public-Sector Equality Duty Local authority must assess impact on disabled users; failure can void consent.

    “Catch-all” paragraph we drop into every letter

    “In addition to my planning objections, I reserve my rights under Paragraphs 77–80 of the Electronic Communications Code. The pole prejudices both the amenity and security of my property, breaches Regulation 6 of the ECC Conditions & Restrictions Regulations 2003 (overhead lines should be avoided when underground routes are practicable) and was installed contrary to the 2016 Cabinet & Pole-Siting Code of Practice, which requires meaningful community engagement. I therefore request removal, failing which I will pursue remedies via Ofcom, the County Court and the Highway Authority.”

    What we’re asking here for

    Have we missed any other legal or regulatory levers?
    Anyone here succeeded in forcing LightSpeed to relocate or remove a pole—what worked in practice?
    Tips on organising a residents’ petition or dealing with Ofcom / highways teams would be much appreciated.

  5. Maureen Swinburn Avatar
    Maureen Swinburn

    We agree with many local residents that telegraph poles should not be erected. They are unsightly, they provide perching for pigeons and other birds, so their excrement causes a problem, not only on pavements, but also on residents’ properties, drives, cars and gardens. We are fed up as we have to clean our car every day from bird droppings. We already have three cables over our drive and don’t want any more! Also, the birds perch on the poles, which obviously leaves a mess on the pavement outside our properties. It would be much better for everyone if the cables were put underground.

  6. Mike Marklew Avatar
    Mike Marklew

    I come home today and was facing one of the truck driver he was backing down there was a post offices van in front of me he went up on to the pathway to go round him and he was expecting me to do the same but I refused to do so he was abusive and his work mate come out and was threatened to me then I z I was going to phone the police I was not very happy by this I back up and the driver come more closer to my car i would appreciate it if they was not so aggressive to ward’s me

  7. Ms J Canham Avatar
    Ms J Canham

    I am complaining for my elderly neighbour, who doesn’t get out much and likes to sit and look out of her window. Now she sees a great big pole right in her line of vision. We heard all the noise when they erected them, not knowing what was going on. I have been lucky that my pole is at the side of my property, so I can’t see it, but when I go out there, it looks terrible, and this is before they put up the lines

  8. Rich Smith Avatar
    Rich Smith

    Please include myself and neighbours in kirtley glascote heath
    We have had a pole placed in front of our houses, we were not made aware this was happening and we can only repeat the concerns previously raised concerning property value health and wellbeing and a visual mess.

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