Work to site a cable cabinet in Meltham is causing a “hole” lot of trouble.
Contractors for BT Openreach have dug up the pavement outside Meltham’s Carlile Institute to install a fibre broadband cabinet.
But resident Richard Noon criticised the siting of the box, saying it would detract from the appearance of the building – the subject of a £500,000 refurbishment – and arguing that it should go next to an existing green cable cabinet around the corner.
Mr Noon said the hole had been dug about 10 inches away from the wall, which would hinder pedestrians once the cabinet is installed.
However, he said BT had agreed to halt further work until a meeting with Mr Noon on Monday (Feb 13) to discuss his concerns.
A spokeswoman for BT Openreach said: “The position of this fibre broadband cabinet, which will bring superfast broadband to more than 160 homes and businesses in the centre of Meltham , has been agreed with highways and gone through all of the relevant planning processes.
“So far we have constructed the base which the outer shell of the cabinet will be attached to. The gap between the wall and cabinet will be just over four inches to allow access to the back of the cabinet for future maintenance.”
She said other locations were investigated, but were unsuitable.
