Shock waves rather than cheers as mysterious poles spring up in Rugby

Three 10m poles were put up in Alwyn Road, yesterday, causing bewilderment for everyone living in homes nearby.

There had been no consultation – and to add the sense of frustration a notice was attached to each saying that people could complain. After they had been installed.

The near-comic episode was thereby traced to CityFibre, a high-flying London-based company that had announced that it would be working on bringing full fibre to Rugby in a press statement released earlier in the month.

With no mention of a need for old-style telegraph poles to make new technology happen, the arrival of contractors working right up to people’s boundaries in some cases was a mystery – and in many cases an irritation.

CityFibre’s own website includes a video about how they will visit affected properties and send a letter seven days before work starts – but none of that happened, a detail confirmed by the Advertiser having a team member living on the spot, who also spoke to people living near the other two locations.

In due course, no doubt the benefits of full fibre and fast internet will get the kind of welcome the company and Rugby Borough Council’s spokesperson Cllr Emma Crane gave in that original press release. Work is due to go on across Rugby until early 2024 and services will be available from a range of internet providers.

A spokesman for CityFibre said the company was ‘sorry to learn of the concerns raised’.