The folly of splurging on HS2 while rural public services face collapse

SIR – The time has arrived for the Government to face up to the needs of this country and prioritise its spending on public services and infrastructure.

I live 25 miles from the centre of London and cannot get a mobile signal (“Eight in 10 rural homes are mobile blackspots”, report, December 16). My broadband speed is poor, local roads are dotted with potholes, and my nearest hospital in High Wycombe has closed its A&E department.

Meanwhile, billions of pounds in taxpayers’ money is being poured into the HS2 vanity project. Given the choice, I would like to have that A&E department back and be able to use my mobile phone, rather than be able to arrive in Birmingham 20 minutes earlier. Michael Seller

Amersham, Buckinghamshire

SIR – The shameful lack of adequate broadband and mobile coverage in so much of rural Britain merely serves to underscore the utter neglect experienced by those who do not live in towns. Politically, we do not count, and our votes are few. Neale Edwards

Chard, Somerset

SIR – While I agree broadly with calls for better broadband and phone coverage, I would also love to see our village served by mains drainage and mains gas. Chris Smyth

Upper Dowdeswell, Gloucestershire

SIR – Many installations of small phone masts are prevented by planning rules designed to protect certain species such as bats, badgers and newts. If these masts are within sight of a listed building, refusals may also follow.

The network providers have a statutory duty to provide a certain level of coverage, so they should have a statutory right to place these small masts wherever necessary. Mike Ostick

Upton-upon-severn, Worcestershire SIR – The Government decrees that all UK premises, including those in remote rural areas, must be able to receive 4G mobile phone signals.

National Park authorities have a statutory duty to conserve and enhance the natural beauty and special qualities of their areas. The rush to achieve total coverage threatens these designated landscapes by siting masts in highly inappropriate places.

Change is inevitable, including in National Parks, but the system must not be rigged to exclude National Park planning authorities and the views of local communities. Norman Cowling

Chairman, Dartmoor Preservation Association Newton Abbot, Devon

SIR – Following your report that people in 43 per cent of country homes and businesses are unable to use their mobile phones, perhaps you could print a list of the pubs in those areas, so that I can enjoy a quiet pint. Steve Thomas

Brackley, Northamptonshire