Broadband Roll-Out

Spotlight has been trying to unravel the mysteries of the broadband rollout in Chineham. The presence of BT Openreach vans around the area and new cabinets springing up – sometimes stupidly located – is evidence that something is actually happening.

This Google map is an attempt to indicate the status of cabinets throughout the ward. Access to the complete map for the Basingstoke urban area can be found here. Spotlight has also obtained a chart showing the postcodes likely to benefit from improved service. This is extracted from a wider document covering locations throughout the UK. Please click here to know more about this. It must be emphasised that – despite clarification requests, Openreach have so far resisted confirming the details – but equally have not refuted them. Several residents have queried whether those not choosing to take an upgrade to their broadband service will benefit from the improved infrastructure. There is absolutely no guarantee that these fraudulent basic services will improve although it might be that if substantial numbers of users migrate to the premium services, this will reduce the pressure on the standard lines, thus possibly bringing about modest improvements. If you are particularly knowledgeable or well-informed on this topic, do please feed back to Spotlight as there are many people interested in learning how things are likely to develop.

Mast Mess

Some weeks ago, agents acting on behalf of Vodafone and O2 submitted a planning application to Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council for the erection of a number of telecoms masts around the borough, one of which was to be in Chineham.

The normal expectation is that applicants for such installations will carry out local consultation before submitting their plans in order that things can progress in an orderly fashion once the formal process has been launched.

On this occasion, the agents chose only to contact borough councillors (thus excluding both the parish council and members of the public).

Martin Biermann had seriousness misgivings about some details of their siting proposals on the Binfields Roundabout (at the entrance to the Chineham Shopping Centre). He requested a site meeting with the agent who chose to just ignore this request.

Thankfully, when the application went before the borough’s development control committee, the Chineham application was rejected, along with several others; basically because it was thought that more appropriate locations existed in the close vicinity, but undoubtedly also inspired by the lack of consultation by the agents.

Subsequently the agents wrote an e-mail saying “I think more likely new applications in the locations suggested in last nights committee will be given great consideration as this seems to me the most amicable way forward. It seems to me that if we can locate in two cases on opposite sides of roundabouts…… we will have acceptable solutions.”

It was thus something of a surprise when on Friday, 13 May, contractors were spotted digging up the verge near the Binfields Roundabout in exactly the location which failed to gain council approval.

Local residents are, to put it mildly, displeased.

The borough’s development control manager has immediately got on to the agents seeking an explanation.