Is this open reach box acceptable?

[m3jappa]

I have just got home and am pretty gutted tbh, bt open reach have just fitted a new box outside our house in addition to the other 2 slightly further down.
The first 2 have been there some time and while not ideal they are offset to the house. I knew this when we got the house.
The new box though is directly in front of the house, right outside our gate and for some reason (more boxes maybe) is about 3m away from the other 2.
Why on earth wouldn’t they fit it to the other side of the existing boxes instead of right outside someone’s house

Maybe I am being a bit nimby but I’m gutted, I am fairly certain a box located like that would put off potential buyers in future.
No warning from them and possibly no sense or respect either.

Next to the existing boxes the path area backs onto a brick wall, why on earth wouldn’t they all just be fitted there?

[m3jappa]

[colin_p]

People MUST have their broadband, at all costs!

I'd be gutted with that outside my house.

[guindilias]

If you ask the fitter, it's "cos the boss said to fit it here". And the boss is never contactable. Neighbour had the same thing with a Virgin cable box, they wouldn't move it "cos the boss said we can't".
So the neighour covered the entire box in brick slips to match his garden wall, just leaving enough room to get to the door latch. Virgin haven't said a thing, or made any attempt to remove them! Seems as long as they can still get into the box you can paint it, vinyl wrap it, whatever...

[Dromedary66]

When the grass grows back it will be slightly less fugly. You should at least get rip-roaring adsl speeds in the future.

[Coleman262]

My old man had the same thing put outside his showroom, masking all of his advertising boards, whilst very annoyed there was nothing he could do about it, as they have the right to put them wherever they so please.

[KrazyIvan]

6 months from now you'll forget it's even there.

[Chris Type R]

Dromedary66 said:

When the grass grows back it will be slightly less fugly. You should at least get rip-roaring adsl speeds in the future.

OP might be with Virgin.

Edited by Chris Type R on Friday 9th November 16:13

[V8RX7]

I had similar at an old house.

If you approach them when they start digging then they will try to find an alternative position

At this stage I think you're too late.

As I was, because who knew when they started digging that they were intending to build a bloody great box.

I grew a hedge to hide them all

[RC1807]

OP: I kind of understand your point, but it's really not going to put people off buying your house in the future. It's not a telegraph pole in your front garden. It's not even on your land.

[Emanresu]

You live in a suburban area, it’s not on your property, so what’s the problem?

If you don’t like street furniture, buy a house in the country. If you can’t afford a house in the country, suck it up and deal with it.

[B17NNS]

Shrubs. Plant some.

[DonkeyApple]

m3jappa said:

That is a bit of a bugger. No idea if there is a kosher reason for it to not be closer to the others. However, does it obscure the line of sight for a driver at that junction? If it’s been placed where it might be dangerous in that regard then possibly the council will instruct Openreach to move it if someone were to politely write to them very concerned about the abject danger to small children and their mothers?

[Alucidnation]

Those cabinets don’t just ‘pop up’ while you are at work.

There would have a few different contractors there before bt, preparing the site, and probably a good few weeks beforehand as well.

[Toltec]

DonkeyApple said:

m3jappa said:

That is a bit of a bugger. No idea if there is a kosher reason for it to not be closer to the others. However, does it obscure the line of sight for a driver at that junction? If it’s been placed where it might be dangerous in that regard then possibly the council will instruct Openreach to move it if someone were to politely write to them very concerned about the abject danger to small children and their mothers?

I thought it would be handy to stop wayward vehicles ending up in your garden, stops lorries cutting over the grass too.

[Lemming Train]

VirginMedia have finally started cabling our estate after telling us it's been coming for over 5 years. This very day I came home to find that they've put the green cabinet right outside my house on the footpath. It's literally 15ft from the cabinet to where my PC is in the room on the other side of the wall. I couldn't be happier . I will have the bestest ping and download speeds in the country once they connect me up!

(Sorry OP, I know this doesn't help you )

[megaphone]

Surely they wrote to you before hand and told you about the works?

I'd be a bit pissed off if that was stuck outside my house, don't see why they couldn't have put it next to the otter boxes.

I'm also on a corner, I have a Virgin box outside my house, it's tucked away behind my garden wall. Other than it being used for a seat by the local kids, it does not cause me any issues. When I had Virgin BB I needed a 20dB attenuator on the line to pad the signal down.

[Sheepshanks]

On our estate the ADSL boxes are all on corners but, thinking about it, none of the houses are on corners like that - they're all at 90° to each other.

So it's the house that's in the wrong place, not the box.

[m3jappa]

I spoke to a couple of people earlier, one was bt customer services who were quite helpful, he agreed it was a ridiculous position.

I then spoke to open reach via an online chat (there's no way you are calling these people!) The guy immediately said that there would be planning for this box, he then backed down about it when i said i hadn't seen any notice about it. I then sent him a picture and he came straight back saying it was a very bad location for it and agreed with me.
He said all he can do is forward it all onto that boxes project manager and get him to contact me, he said he hoped it had been located in the wrong position!

Work actually started yesterday, my wife said they were digging it up out there, however we just assumed they were doing a repair to something as they often seem to be doing out there, they were there this morning and i saw them, again i assumed they were doing a repair, i never thought they would be fitting another box a few meters away. They are often out there doing something so i haven't had any reason to believe anything else.

No notice at all of works. I checked the council planning portal and theres nothing at all on there, maybe there is some kind of blanket planning allowing them to fit what they like as the first box which was there must be years and years old.

Does it block line of sight from the junction? maybe? ill have to see in a car, it doesnt really in my van.

And to the pleb saying about how i cant afford a house in the country and i should suck it up, i do understand street furniture will be fitted in various places, theres a lamppost the other side of the property and the other boxes were there when we bought the house, fitting a random box in front of someones house like that is fking stupid.
The lengths i go to to keep my general public customers happy, the bizaree things they sometimes moan about which i do suck up, deal with and keep smiling, i assure you about 80% of people i work for would have a fking baby if they had this outside. i dont mind them being there but seriously it isn't much to ask to fit them to the left and not outside the fking gate.

If it doesnt get moved i will remove the gate and continue the laurel hedge ( i was going to anyway but i was going to keep the gate) and have it maybe 4ft high all round which i think will detract enough.

I may also plant a load of shrubs around the boxes, theres loads on the verges round here so i doubt they would cause an issue.

[Sheepshanks]

To be fair, with that wall being there the siting of all of the boxes is just completely thoughtless, unless there's some specific reason they have to be where they are.