Rayleigh and Wickford MP, Mark Francois, recently held a meeting in Westminster with Mr Ed Taylor, Director of Public Affairs and Ms Stacey King, Senior Partner Manager from CityFibre, in order to discuss the “chaos” caused by the ongoing rollout of the company’s super-fast broadband.
This has been particularly bad in the Hockley area, which some residents have temporarily nicknamed ‘Blockley’, as a result. During the meeting, Mark grilled Mr Taylor and Ms King over the ongoing delays and expressed that many of his constituents continue to be very displeased regarding the relentless nature of current roadworks and traffic restrictions, including multiple contraflows, even on the same road. On top of this, Mark sought to clarify what notice, if any, CityFibre were actually giving residents in order for them to plan accordingly.
Additionally, Mark expressed that he would like to see a pause in the rollout, given the persistent impact that the works have had on his constituents lives since they began. CityFibre have promised to take this very much into consideration and they have assured Mark that they will write back to him with their plans for any of the future rollout, very shortly.
Commenting after the meeting, Mark said:
“Once complete, the super-fast broadband in the local area, will, I am sure, be welcomed by residents. Nevertheless, there have been many phases of this project where roads have essentially been gridlocked, with a completely unacceptable knock-on effect on people’s lives and livelihoods.
During the meeting, I sought assurances from the company that everything possible would be done to minimise disruption with the remaining work. I also pressed for CityFibre to consider a pause in the works, given the relentless nature of the rollout that has been carried out for many months, and I look forward to hearing from them shortly to see if this is something that they will seriously consider.”
