Couple’s room with a view...of huge Virgin Media box
AN elderly couple are furious after a 5ft broadband box was installed directly outside their window – which they say blocks out light.
Pensioners Donald and Rosemary Ferguson – and their neighbour Betty McGrath – have been battling Virgin Media for nine months after three large grey units were placed on their street. While the firm does not need planning permission to erect the boxes, their council says it ‘expects’ them to be sensitive to the impact on residents.
Despite complaints, the authority is yet to take action – saying broadband companies have special ‘development rights’.But one councillor has called for the boxes to be removed. Mrs Ferguson, 82, said that they were never told that the boxes would be put directly outside their home. She explained: ‘This has really affected our homes. It completely blocks out any light from coming into the house, and we now have no outlook at all.
‘We were never advised they were going to be put here, but apparently, that’s because they don’t need planning permission.’
Mr Ferguson, 88, and his wife contacted their local councillor in East Renfrewshire, Danny Devlin, who said: ‘Virgin Media are a law unto themselves. As a gesture of common sense, I would expect Virgin to take the boxes down and give these pensioners back the view they had before.’ A Virgin spokesman said: ‘In the case of the cabinets in Lowndes Court, the council was notified prior to Virgin Media installing the cabinets and the correct procedures were followed.’
Council chiefs said communication firms including Virgin Media did not require planning permission for the boxes, but a spokesman added: ‘We would expect them to be placed in suitable locations which have minimal impact on residents.’