Issue details
Fastershire Resource Support for Street Works
Fastershire is entering a period of high
activity
• Gigaclear are moving into South Herefordshire and, we are
assured, will be accelerating their ongoing work in the north of
the county;
• Airband are progressing through the county and have just
engaged a strategic contractor to accelerate their pace;
• Full Fibre Ltd are continuing their work in Leominster, have
moved into Ledbury and are now committed to deliver Ross on Wye;
and
• ZZOOMM have begun their full fibre deployment for the
entirety of Hereford City alongside a less specific announcement
from Openreach in the same area.
All of these operators will be working intensively in Herefordshire
during 2021 and 2022. This is excellent news for the county’s
digital connectivity bringing associated benefits to the
Herefordshire economy, environment and society but it will be a
period of significant pressure on the highway network that needs to
be managed effectively during this period.
The Network Management: Streetworks & Licensing Team is a small
team of 2 within BBLP that processes notices from utilities and
manages the coordination of street works across the county. They
are currently spending a significant amount of time already
supporting our broadband providers. The NSWR Technician estimates
that 40-50% of their time is taken processing broadband related
notices.
When the anticipated exponential rise in activity manifests in more
noticing requests, this will put increasing strain on the BBLP team
and backlogs in the processing of notices. This risks delays to the
deployment and missing opportunities to coordinate between the
suppliers generating efficiencies for the broadband build. These
might include for instance minimising the conflict between the
broadband build and existing and planned Section 58s.
The council to contribute to the cost of undertaking bridge surveys
where our providers are crossing structures. Also, an additional
NRSWA Inspector role for a 12 month period and a dedicated
Fastershire Streetworks Coordinator role again for a 12 month
period and focused solely on the work of broadband providers.
Job descriptions for both roles have been provided.
Role FY 21/22
NRSWA Inspector £28k
Fastershire Streetworks Coordinator £25k
Bridge Surveys £3.2k
Total £56.2k
The contribution of £56,200 is committed to BBLP from the
Fastershire capital budget to support 2 roles and additional bridge
survey capability subject to
• These roles working exclusively on the broadband programme
for the county
• Regular reports being provided to the Fastershire team on
their activity and
• Attendance at the Fastershire Strategic Operations
meetings.
Decision type: Non-key
Decision status: Recommendations Approved
Notice of proposed decision first published: 26/02/2021
Decision due: 25 February 2021 by Assistant director Corporate Support (Historic)
Contact: Natalia Silver, Service Director - Corporate Services Email: nsilver@herefordshire.gov.uk Tel: 01432260732.
Decisions
- 26/02/2021 - Fastershire Resource Support for Street Works