The Mancunian Way: ‘A middle finger to our community’

They’re the height of four double decker buses stacked on top of one another. And they can be erected at the end of your drive without anyone asking permission.

That's the reality of what people across Greater Manchester have been facing in recent months as telecoms giants install huge broadband masts without the assent of locals. But firms like BT, Vodafone and IX Wireless are not breaking the law.

Changes to planning rules in 2019 mean masts under 15 metres tall can be installed under 'permitted development' without prior permission from the local authority. Oldham West and Royton MP Jim McMahon told Westminster it seems the worst offender in his constituency is IX Wireless, a Blackburn firm which hit the headlines last year for donating more than £138,000 to 24 Conservative MPs.

IX Wireless say they have worked hard to engage with communities, and ensure 'residents' needs are met'. Mark Logan, Tory MP for Bolton East - and not one of the MPs to get a donation from the broadband firm - called on the Government to ensure comapnies like IX Wireless have a greater duty to consult.

“These massive masts going up are almost like a middle finger to the local community, to consultation and to a peaceful living environment,” he said.

Yasmin Qureshi, Labour MP for neighbouring Bolton South East, described the masts and poles as ‘tall, ugly monstrosities, blighting our landscape and causing much distress to my constituents’. She added: "It has become a case of whack-a-mole, with the masts, boxes and poles popping up everywhere; we get one re-sited, and another appears in a different area."

But after months of anger from powerless residents and local politicians at firms attempting to build up their high speed broadband networks