The disappearing cabinet! Installed one day, then removed!

A bit of a strange one:

I am on the Tenby exchange. The exchange is scheduled to have fibre ready for December this year.

BT submitted the planning applications recently, and began work on installing new fibre cabinets last week. I think mine is the first cabinet they're doing as it's one of the closest to the exchange, and I haven't seen any work being done on any other cabinets in the town yet.

On Monday 4th August, they dug a hole next to my cabinet (PCP 10). See this photo: http://s17.postimg.org/9p0hbmptr/Cab01.jpg

The hole was left with barriers around it for a week, with various pipes sticking out of it. See this photo: http://s24.postimg.org/y9ae1984l/Cab02.jpg

Then, on Monday this week (the 11th), a truck showed up in the morning with a shiny new fibre cabinet on it. They put the cabinet in the freshly dug hole, connected it all up and whathaveyou, then lay fresh tarmac around it to seal the gaps and finish the job. The barriers were taken away, and off the crew went into the sunset. The install was finished, and our cabinet was ready to go! Happy days!

HOWEVER...

Today, I was walking past, and had to do a double take - our brand spanking new fibre cabinet has disappeared!

Literally, completely gone.

See this photo: http://s27.postimg.org/ggvkxdjsj/Cab03.jpg - they've dug it up, taken it away, and filled the hole where it stood just a few days ago with more tarmac (you can even work out the darker, fresher, cabinet-shaped patch of tarmac within the previous tarmac on the photo!) In fact, if I hadn't seen the cabinet standing there with my own eyes on Monday, I'd have never even known it had existed!

Has anyone heard of anything like this before? Why on earth was it installed, the job completed, and then just... removed?!

Have my fibre dreams come to an end?!

So you actually got a cabinet installed? PCP29 in Pembrole didn't even get installed, they showed up, dug a hole, filled it in and that was it. It was supposed to go in the day after my Sisters one (PCP30) but nothing has happened.

Superfarce Cymru are being very vague about progress which is annoying considering they are publicly funded but it seems that giving straight answers to the public isn't in their remit (unless it is just for generation of positive spin) It took 4 emails to get them to say that work on PCP29 is at an early stage - whatever the hell that means - which means that they will be getting regular emails from me about lack of progress, and so will my A.M.

I hope for your sale that it gets sorted before the installation teams leave the area because then its anyone's guess if/when you will get upgraded.

Superfarce.. whoever coined that was so right.

Yes, the cabinet really was there! Installed on Monday, and was definitely still there on Monday afternoon and evening, and at least Tuesday morning - I didn't walk past again until today when I noticed it had gone!

It was one of the standard small sized cabinets like this: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/dpaz/AwKT7RUC... (not my picture, found on Google Images) and was the only one I've seen installed so far in Tenby. I've seen the same workmen digging a hole next to a cabinet elsewhere in town, but that's still just a hole at the moment, whereas mine went from being a hole, to having a cabinet installed and the job completed, to having the cabinet removed and the hole filled in within a few days!

Luckily as I'm quite close to the exchange I get a very stable 16Mbps at the moment, so can live without fibre for the time being. But to see it installed and then just removed is madness!

As you say, "Superfarce" seems much more appropriate than "Superfast" - have been reading your other posts about your cabinet too - seems like they don't know what they're doing in Pembroke either!

Edited by deleted (Thu 14-Aug-14 22:11:35)

I wonder if it was supposed to be a larger one?

In reply to a post by cabinetspotter:

Yes, the cabinet really was there! Installed on Monday, and was definitely still there on Monday afternoon and evening, and at least Tuesday morning - I didn't walk past again until today when I noticed it had gone!

That's very ODD strange, why put it there in the first place then disappear! Not like BT at all.

Or an objection raised and council said to remove it e.g. path width objection on safety grounds maybe

In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

Or an objection raised and council said to remove it e.g. path width objection on safety grounds maybe

Yes but why is wayleave is accepted in the first place?

One of our cabinets was installed and then later removed, it had been installed in an unsafe position on a corner. It was eventually installed further down the road.

Hi mate I'm on Tenby exchange too. Your cab was denied planning for some reason! There's no explanation just that it was turned down. The other one was the down the Green. See here for yours:

http://pcnpa.co.uk/default.asp?PID=506&APASID=NP/14/...

They've denied yours and the one at the Green but allowed one outside the Church (St Johns) where there's never been one before. Pembrokeshire Coast National Parks planning has waaaaay too much power!

The other 8 or 9 had their planning passed. I'm in Upper Hill Park and they were digging up the road at the bottom of the hill between the PCP (cab 3) and the Western Power sub station right opposite yesterday so looks like mine's going to be done soon. What is strange though is that they were also disc-cutting holes outside everyone's house on the way up the estate too - maybe FTTP??? I'm not that lucky surely

Edited by WelshWArrior (Fri 15-Aug-14 11:18:34)

In reply to a post by adslmax:

Yes but why is wayleave is accepted in the first place?

There is no wayleave on adopted highways. Wayleave applies to private land.

The only time full plans on public highways are presented for approval is in conservation areas where planning permission is required.

EDIT: http://forums.thinkbroadband.com/fibre/t/4351332-re-... has the info - BT's contractors shouldn't have built the cabinet in the first place, communications fail.

Edited by deleted (Fri 15-Aug-14 11:14:21)

In reply to a post by WelshWArrior:

Hi mate I'm on Tenby too. Your cab was denied planning! There's no explanation just that it was turned down. The other one was the down the Green. See here for yours:

http://pcnpa.co.uk/default.asp?PID=506&APASID=NP/14/...

They've denied your and the Green but allowed one outside the Church (St Johns) where there's never been one before. Pembrokeshire Coast National Parks planning has waaaaay too much power!

Should be a full decision detailed soon if they follow the standard processes. BT/their contractors have record for building in conservation areas / national parks before they get permission.

Edited by deleted (Fri 15-Aug-14 11:17:33)

In reply to a post by WelshWArrior:

Hi mate I'm on Tenby exchange too. Your cab was denied planning for some reason! There's no explanation just that it was turned down. The other one was the down the Green. See here for yours:

http://pcnpa.co.uk/default.asp?PID=506&APASID=NP/14/...

They've denied yours and the one at the Green but allowed one outside the Church (St Johns) where there's never been one before. Pembrokeshire Coast National Parks planning has waaaaay too much power!

The other 8 or 9 had their planning passed. I'm in Upper Hill Park and they were digging up the road at the bottom of the hill between the PCP (cab 3) and the Western Power sub station right opposite yesterday so looks like mine's going to be done soon. What is strange though is that they were also disc-cutting holes outside everyone's house on the way up the estate too - maybe FTTP??? I'm not that lucky surely

Cheers for that, interesting info! Just shows how useless the National Park Authority is! It's not like BT want to build a giant monstrosity right in the middle of the beach or on the coast path - it's a tiny little green box next to one that's been there for years, on the edge of a council estate for goodness' sake! Hardly a scene of "spectacular natural beauty" that needs protecting! And the cabinet is set well back from the road and pavement against a wall, not at all in anyone's way, so it will be very interesting to find out exactly what their reason for refusal was - although with this being the Pembrokeshire National Park, they don't publicise anything, you can't even view the planning documents online!

I wonder if BT will re-apply to put the cabinet somewhere else? I do hope so. But the National Park might have shot themselves in the foot by refusing the first application because the only other places the cabinet could go would be far more prominent then its existing position against a wall.

Here's hoping your cabinet gets installed without any issues!

Yeah I agree - it's absolutely crazy how say for example the one outside an x hundred year old church gets thumbs up but your's doesn't! Well it's decision like this that get's the WAG's idea to amalgamate planning bodies (such as PCC and PCNPA) the thumbs up from me!

Apparently, if they don't put the reasoning on their website, you can go to their office at Llanion in the Dock and ask to see the documents. The only thing I can think of is Western Power protesting that it's too close to their sub-station?? Can't think why else it would be turned down - as you said it's well off the road, not near any listed buildings or any other sensitive stuff.

After the fibre is put in the new Cab next to the existing PCP cab at the bottom of the hill, my line goes up the hill (approx. 200m), turns left into Lady Park, goes another 50m to an SCP Cab and only then does it come back up into UHP the 60m to my house. Altogether it's about 305m. Anything is better that the 13meg I get at the moment though so I'm thankfull for that

Hope your's gets the fingers up soon too!!!

Do a little reading on FTTC and Kensington and Chelsea in 2012 (or thereabouts) - they refused BT permission for quite a few cabinets (around 100) so BT pulled out almost completely! Residents were not at all pleased. It took a year to get the local authority's narrow-minded and short-sighted bureaucrats to see sense.

The councillors that the people elect. Yeah, right!

This one :
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Lower+Northdown+...

The cab was supposed to have been installed further down the road towards the existing PCP cab but for some reason was placed on the corner of the junction, on a sloped section of the footway, outside a retirement home.

In reply to a post by Yaz:

This one :
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Lower+Northdown+...

The cab was supposed to have been installed further down the road towards the existing PCP cab but for some reason was placed on the corner of the junction, on a sloped section of the footway, outside a retirement home.

Yep, that was the.

In reply to a post by warweezil:

I hope for your sale that it gets sorted before the installation teams leave the area because then its anyone's guess if/when you will get upgraded.

Yep, you're screwed once that happens. Been 2.5 years since mine got missed, and it's constantly "3 months away" ever since (they haven't actually done anything since though).

In reply to a post by arfster:

In reply to a post by warweezil:

I hope for your sale that it gets sorted before the installation teams leave the area because then its anyone's guess if/when you will get upgraded.

Yep, you're screwed once that happens. Been 2.5 years since mine got missed, and it's constantly "3 months away" ever since (they haven't actually done anything since though).

.....And worse yet - you cant get a straight answer from Superfarce Wales, They seem to be only interested in spin and half truths, the press releases don't mention the amount if Infil they leave behind when the "bring fibre connectivity to rural communities"

I'm going to keep badgering Superfarce Wales, My Assembly members and my MP until I get an answer.

Anyone seen any more cabs appearing? I've seen that the Knowling Mead one has been done but have seen no more going in for a few weeks now!