Victory for the little guys – that was the message from Holmhead residents as they claimed a victory over ‘unwarranted poles in our streets’.

Residents of Kyle Court and Holmhead Road were unpleasantly surprised a few weeks go when they were met with Openreach connection poles being placed in front of houses across the streets.

The Holmhead households were unhappy that they had not been pre-warned about the plans, with one individual saying that a pole was placed right in front of his garden and restricting his view.

With the first pole being placed around the beginning of March, a succession of poles quickly followed.

Unhappy with the move, residents sought to complain and started a petition to remove the poles.

After speaking with local MSPs and the company involved with the installation, the people of Holmhead got their wish, as the poles have now been removed from the area.

William McVake, who started the petition, said: “They put this massive pole up outside my house with a notice on it that if you wanted to object then you had to contact, which seems a bit like putting the cart before the horse.

“It seems like it would’ve been a lot easier to put these things underground.

“Stuff like this happened 40 or 50 years ago.

“It was a lot of time and effort and was all due to the co-operation of the people around here, and the wee man won.”

A spokesperson from Openreach, which is owned by BT, said: “We strive to select and site our infrastructure sensitively, balancing this with the need to meet local broadband demand.

“Poles need to be in the right place to provide internet, TV and other services to properties, must avoid other underground services like gas and water pipes and drainage, and meet regulations on space left on the pavement for pedestrians, cyclists and prams.

“All network providers like ourselves follow a statutory process to install telecoms infrastructure on public land.

“When installing on public land we are not obligated to let the public know in advance.

“However, we do give local authorities 28 days’ notice before we put up poles, and liaise with them if they raise any concerns about planned installations. Under the rules, residents have a year to object to new poles.

“Details are pinned to the poles.”