Aberystwyth residents have become enraged as cars are being damaged on a new telegraph pole.

An Openreach utility pole was placed on Prospect Street in June, as part of the Full Fibre rollout across the town.

However residents have since complained that the poles' placement limits the egress from the narrow one-way road when a vehicle parks opposite the pole, with at least four vehicles having sustained body damage since it was installed.

Despite complaints, Openreach and Ceredigion County Council maintain that the pole placement is legal and with correct road clearance.

A car which sustained body damage from hitting the new telegraph pole. Scratch marks from the wooden pole are visible on the bodywork. Photo: Leigh Denyer
A car which sustained body damage from hitting the new telegraph pole. Scratch marks from the wooden pole are visible on the bodywork. Photo: Leigh Denyer (Leigh Denyer)

Leigh Denyer, one of the residents on Prospect Street, said that “the practical consequences for local people are severe - families can no longer fit a pushchair safely on the pavement, and disabled residents are being disadvantaged, which represents a potential breach of the 2010 Equality Act 2010”.

He added that “this means emergency vehicles would fail to leave the street, possibly costing a life” and described a “string of costly damage has occurred to residents' vehicles”.

Even County Councillor Endaf Edwards acknowledged that it is now “only possible to traverse the street by driving along the pavement”.

Openreach states that the pole was surveyed and planned “in the context of its specific location” and gave the council 28 days' notice of the plans, to which there were no objections.

Left - the pavement before the telegraph pole was installed. Right - a van trying to pass the new wooden telegraph pole.
Left - the pavement and street before the telegraph pole was installed. Right - a van trying to pass the new wooden telegraph pole. (Google Streetview/ Lee Denyer)

Suggesting that parking arrangements and drivers mounting the pavement are the issue, Openreach said it would “respond to any order to move our network, but where it is legally sited, as in this case, would pass charges for relocation to the party making the request”.

Leigh said residents are left feeling “ignored” with Openreach “shifting the blame onto residents” who are now “discouraged from using the street”, adding: “Openreach claims the lack of egress is 'not a health and safety' issue, but clearly, if an ambulance cannot leave the street, the issue is real.”

The Highway Code gives guidance against parking 10m from a junction.

In an email, Tom Delph-Janiurek from Ceredigion County Council Highways and Environmental Services department said that the width of the footway and the possibility of obstruction were checked before the pole was fitted.

Looking west out of Prospect Street into South Road, showing the previously existing lamp post 50cm further over was already being struck by vehicles because the road is narrow.
(Left - the new Openreach pole. Right - the pre-existing lamppost.) Looking west out of Prospect Street onto South Road, showing the previously existing lamp post 50cm further over was already being struck by vehicles because the road is narrow. (Lee Denyer)

He added that the issue would be discussed at the next countywide review of parking restrictions during the next financial year (April 2026), proposing a short section of double yellow lines prohibiting parking at the entrance to the junction, “though preparations may commence sooner”.

An Openreach spokesperson said: “We’re building a new Full Fibre broadband network in Aberystwyth, with around 6,800 local homes and businesses already benefitting from this new technology.

“Wherever possible, we use existing poles and underground ducts in our upgrades, and we try to keep new poles to a minimum, but sometimes we need them to make sure people aren't left out.

“We always follow local planning rules whilst balancing engineering, cost and safety.

“This pole is legally sited and the correct clearance is in place to make sure pedestrians, buggies and wheelchair users can safely pass by on the pavement."