Battle plans drawn up in Beverley as community fights telegraph pole installation

• Video report by Katie Oscroft

Residents are drawing up plans to fight the installation of hundreds of broadband poles in an East Yorkshire town.

A packed public meeting in Beverly heard from objectors who say the infrastructure, which is not subject to standard planning rules, will make their streets look like the 1950s.

Residents from nearby Hedon, Hull, who are campaigning against a similar scheme, have offered their help.

Cllr Steve Gallant from East Riding of Yorkshire Council said: "A number of campaigners in Hedon, where we have been fighting this for the past four months, have been coming along to share experiences about what works and what doesn't work and what people can do to slow the process down.

"We are that hoping out of this meeting that the locals will get themselves organised into a campaign group like we did."

The campaign group in Hedon held several high-profile public meetings and protests over the issue, insisting that infrastructure should be underground - a view shared by people in Beverley.

One protester at the meeting said the poles were a "blot on the landscape".

Another resident described them as "ugly" and complained they were being erected alongside "nice" lamp stands with "wires being strung all over the place."

Cllr Sue Steel, from East Riding of Yorkshire Council, criticised the installation scheme saying the telecommunications companies are "ruining our historic towns and villages".

Connexin, the company due to install the poles, said in a statement: "We are a local business and are bringing competition and choice to our region. Where possible, our build approach always puts the use of any exisiting infrastructure first."

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