Openreach Chief proposes planning and permit changes

Openreach CEO Clive Selley has proposed changes to current planning rules after identifying nearly one million tenants missing out on full fibre due to existing processes.

He states that residents in multi-dwelling units are missing out on upgrades due to red tape and suggests reforms to grant automatic upgrade rights.

Selley said: “Out-of-date planning rules mean owners must give express permission for upgrades, even when there’s an existing line in place.

“Sometimes finding landlords, let alone getting their agreement, is a major obstacle.”

With Openreach applying for around 300,000 permits to carry out work on a street-by-street basis, Selley is also calling for the introduction of flexible permitting.

At the same time, everyone in the industry would welcome improvements to the local authority street works permitting system.

This would allow builders to upgrade multiple streets at once with no taxpayer cost.

He said. “It’s no secret that the pandemic, global events and economic climate have left local authorities stretched, so it’s common to experience delays to permissions, which have a knock-on effect on broadband upgrades.

“To achieve the stretching delivery targets set by Government, applications are likely to double over the next few years, placing a huge and unnecessary bureaucratic burden on everyone involved.”