A man wins a ‘David vs Goliath’ battle over a mammoth 40-foot pole outside his home

A homeowner has won a ‘David vs Goliath’ battle with a broadband supplier who agreed to take down a 40ft pole he had erected at the end of his road without consultation.

Philip Waller, 65, went “ballistic” when he returned home to find Connexin had erected a pole just 16ft (5m) from his living room bay windows. The 10-year-old grandfather, from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, then spent weeks collecting dozens of letters of objection from neighbors and making complaints to councillors.

And although it was initially rejected by the company, Barnsley Council later confirmed it was built without “due process” and ordered it removed. A relieved Philip, who feared his £300,000 bungalow would be left “worthless” if the pole remained up, said: “It’s a bit of a ‘David and Goliath’ situation.

“We only won because what they did is illegal, but if I hadn’t been against it, it would have been here forever. The big problem I have is that these companies think they can roll over people. The next government needs to expose their a position that gives companies free rein to put the poles where they want.”

Philip, a company director, said he left his three-bedroom house on May 30 to do some shopping. And then a worker knocked on his wife’s door, who said they had come to fit in “something to read. meters’. But just ten minutes later, to her dismay, she discovered they were erecting a pole that rose just six inches (2.5 cm) from the driveway entrance.

Philip, who arrived home to see the pylon up, said: “I kind of went ballistic, as anyone does. We had no prior warning, but apparently the company is not required to give 28 days’ notice because the pylon is covered.” according to fiber optic regulations, it’s about 12 meters high, it’s literally about six inches from my driveway, and it’s the width of the car – about 5 meters at most – from the window.”

Philip said he was particularly worried about how the pole would affect the value of his property. And he added: “I was mainly worried about the depreciation of the house. If the pole was left in front of the bungalow, it would be worthless. I definitely wouldn’t buy it. I have a house in Burgundy, France. In a similar situation, the pole would have been burnt down by now.”

Philip immediately started talking to neighbors about the incident and wrote to Connexin to express his anger at what they had done. But in written correspondence the firm claimed it had the right to build the pylon because it had obtained the correct permission from the local council.