Broadband and St Peter's view

CONCERNS have been raised about plans to site a broadband cabinet – giving access to faster internet speeds to town centre residents – close to a historic Tiverton church.

Telecoms firm Harlequin Communications are seeking permission to site two Openreach broadband cabinets in Tiverton town centre.

While councillors on Tiverton's planning committee had no problem with a plan to site one such structure in St Andrew Street, they were unhappy about the location of the second one close to Grade I- listed St Peter's Church.

Cllr Steve Flaws said: "I think it is a really inappropriate place to put it. I couldn't think of a worse place to put it, to be honest. People take lots of photographs of that church and it would look less attractive with a bulky cabinet in full view."

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Cllr Janet Rendle added: "Faster broadband is important, but the location that has been chosen is a conservation area with a Grade I- listed building."

Members of the planning committee of Tiverton Town Council meeting on Monday, March 4, agreed that the proposed site of the second cabinet would be detrimental to St Peter's Church and therefore they could not support the application.

Plans will now be considered by Mid Devon District Council.