“This is a David and Goliath situation. We all want a faster rollout of 5G but available evidence suggests that the telecom giants have used savings from churches and volunteer groups like Highfield Park Trust to bolster their own profits – not to invest in better coverage or lower consumer bills.”
Daisy Cooper MP has pressed the Government to review a telecoms bill that is failing to protect the interests of Highfield Park Trust in St Albans, a volunteer-led organisation that rents some of its land for a mobile telecom mast.
Highfield Park Trust, which runs a programme of events throughout the year for the benefit of the local community, was severely impacted by reforms in 2017 to the Electronic Communications Code. This meant that site owners could only recover the raw value of their land, rather than receiving a market price.
In 2010, when the trust’s initial lease was with O2, its income was approximately £15,000 a year. In 2018, following the 2017 reforms, O2 gave the trust just £200 a year — a 98% reduction. Daisy brought up the plight of Highfield Park Trust during a Parliamentary debate of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure (PSTI) Bill, which aims to support the rollout of future-proof, gigabit-capable broadband and 5G networks.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Daisy asked Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, Nadine Dorries MP, if she would be willing to look at the issue again in regards to “the power imbalance that has arisen from the 2017 reforms?”
In the reply, the Minister said: “We’re not revising the code of 2017.”
Speaking after the debate, Daisy said: “This is a David and Goliath situation. We all want a faster rollout of 5G but available evidence suggests that the telecom giants have used savings from churches and volunteer groups like Highfield Park Trust to bolster their own profits — not to invest in better coverage or lower consumer bills.
“To make matters worse, this power inbalance means that many site owners are now less than willing to cooperate on the rollout of 5G which could slow down the roll-out!
“Through the Protect and Connect campaign. I plan to work with other MPs on a cross-party basis to get a proper valuation mechanism. This should deliver a fair payment for groups like Highfield Park Trust, make sure they can’t be bullied by the telecom giants, and incentivise other small land-owners to support the infrastructure roll-out.”
Chair of Highfield Park Trust Tim Abbott said: “Highfield Park Trust is very grateful to Daisy Cooper MP for pursuing this matter on our behalf.
“As a result of these changes, the Trust lost its entire annual capital budget and was effectively powerless to do anything about it.
“We feel very strongly that the new legislation disproportionately favours the Operating Companies at the expense of landowners.
“The Trust is aware that concern exists about whether the new law is actually having the desired effect and we will continue to monitor the situation closely.
“We have worked over many years to improve our financial position and we shall continue to do so, despite this set back.”