Northampton Full Fibre Rollout Criticised

CityFibre criticised for poor workmanship for its full fibre broadband rollout in Northampton.

10:59 19 November 2020

A number of Northampton residents are criticising CityFibre's quality of work in their communities. The firm, which has more than £40million invested in deploying a gigabit-capable full fibre network in Northampton, is regularly receiving complaints regarding its 'poor workmanship'. 

 

Councillor Emma Roberts, a ward member for Delapre and Briar Hill, said: “Generally the complaints we had were about poor workmanship. Things like equipment being left on the pavement and blocking accesses and driveways, and complaints about the repair work quality.

 

“In parts of Briar Hill they dug up the grass verges instead of the pavements and it could take up to 12 months to reinstate them, so we could be looking at a long time for that.

 

“It has been a lot better recently, but they have significantly been leaving our area so I don’t know if that’s the case in other places.”

 

A spokesman for CityFibre said: “We recognise works of this scale can result in disturbance for residents. It is because of this that we constantly monitor performance with our build partners to put in place measures that minimise disruption and ensure the quality of our works meet the high standards we set ourselves.

 

“As a result, CityFibre has carried out some additional remedial works in the town and we plan to launch an awareness campaign with residents to help address any potential future concerns. CityFibre is also following all COVID secure guidelines to minimise the risk of virus transmission to staff, contractors and the general public. Any reports that guidance is not being followed are being dealt with swiftly.”