Last year I wrote about how 6,600 homes in Hammersmith and Fulham were denied Superfast Broadband (defined as a minimum speed of 30 Megabits per second).  The problem at the time was a petty dispute between the Council and BT Openreach over the correct amount to charge for the street works for cabling for the fibre broadband to the new Cabinets. That has now been resolved. Yet there remains problems in some areas.

For instance Cabinet 50 in Hammersmith (which covers Ravenscourt Place and part of Ravenscourt Road) has still been delayed. This is because it covers a relatively small number of households and so BT estimates it would struggle to recoup the cost from charging for the service (to such firms as Talk Talk and Sky as well as to BT’s own internet division.)

If Virgin had put down cable for their cable TV service that would provide an alternative. But they haven’t – at least not yet. Some streets have both service providing welcome competition. But I’m afraid that there are still too many with neither.

Meanwhile the Council has given contradictory messages about whether it could or would provide a subsidy via Section 106 payment to resolve the matter. But BT Openreach say they couldn’t take the money as it would break EU procurement rules on state aid. It is also rather confusing for the Council to be both demanding an extra charge for road works and then offering a handout to make the figures add up. During all this dithering and buck passing residents have been getting ever more exasperated.

Anyway the good news is that I understand Hammersmith BID, a group representing local businesses, have agreed to pick up the tab – £9,268 – for BT Openreach to go ahead for Cabinet 50. If confirmed it will still take them six months or so to do the work.

The Government have been pushing BT to get on with it. There was a target of 95 per cent of premises to be able to receive Superfast broadband by the end of last year. That was (just) reached. It is due to reach 98 per cent by 2020.  It is expected there will then be a “universal service obligation” so those who still have broadband speeds below 10 Megabits per second will have a “right to request” although if the cost of setting it up is above a certain amount they would have to pay.

One could understand it would be a bit tricky if you lived on the top of a hill in some remote area. But it is exasperating to have this trouble in Hammersmith and Fulham.

The website Think Broadband keeps track of progress by different areas. In Hammersmith and Fulham our Superfast Broadband coverage is 95.2 per cent. That is below the London average of 96.8 per cent.  Consider our neighbouring boroughs. Hounslow is 99.1 per cent. Wandsworth is 98.2 per cent. Kensington and Chelsea is 98.1 per cent. Brent is 98.2 per cent.

Why are thousands more of our households being left behind?

My colleague Cllr Mark Loveday has been pursuing the matter. He has asked for it to be brought before the Finance & Delivery Policy & Accountability Committee again due to the failure to make better progress. I hope that the Council agrees to the request and representatives from BT Openreach and Virgin will attend.

Talking to business owners in King Street I have been impressed by the good humour and resilience they have shown after the recent flooding.

Among those I went to see was Natig Mammadov, whose new cafe Laissez Faire – opened only last month. It is based at 198 King Street.

Natig moved to London three years ago from New York where he worked as a lawyer. He is originally from Azerbaijan now lives just across the river in Putney. The cafe was opened after an extensive renovation, with everything from the ceiling to the floor being torn out and rebuilt. The modern fresh décor of wooden tables and leather sofas makes it a great place to have a tea or coffee, as well as enjoy Natig’s favourite bits of French cuisine – baguettes, ham, cheese and pastries – all imported straight from France.

The choice of name reflects his devotion to free trade, free markets, personal liberty and classical liberalism.

Natig has plans to hang the artwork of local artists, which will be up for sale, on the walls of his coffee shop.

I wrote in March about a petty dispute between BT and Hammersmith and Fulham Council which was delaying 6,600 homes in the borough gaining access to Superfast Broadband. It concerns how much to charge for street works and the disputed sum was only £4,000!

The Council’s Network Management, Transport and Highways has now written to say:

“I am writing to give you the latest update regarding the above issue further to my previous communications with you all. Some of you may already be aware from direct contact from Mr Campling of BT Openreach that HAUC England, the national body who represents the street and road works industry, have produced guidance on how highways authorities should treat the continued roll out of broadband.

“As you may recall we were in dispute with BT Openreach on how these works should be categorised and how they should be notified. I am pleased to say that the recently released guidance makes it clear where there are a high concentration of broadband cabinets in one area that they should be treated as major works, which is what we have been suggesting all along. The guidance also provides BT with some flexibility regarding notifying isolated cabinets as standard works, providing that all the electrical connection works are also carried out within the allowed 10day duration, which BT previously were unable to commit to. We will monitor this closely. If they fail to achieve all works within the 10 days then we will be permitted to also retrospectively treat these works as major works.

“I am pleased that National HAUC have produced this guidance in such a short space of time and it now allows us to work closely with BT Openreach on facilitating the quickest available deployment for these works. We have already been told that their operational team will be in contact with us shortly so I expect works on some sites will commence very soon.”

Absurd that this has taken so long. Often residents work from home. I don’t know what “very soon” means but I will keep pushing away….

There is a fantastic local charity called Resurgo Spear which helps the young unemployed find work. They have helped 4,000. Here is the story from just one of them:

Joe: “When I was 20 I weighed 23 stone. I was staying at home all the time and lying in bed until two in the afternoon. I really hated myself and what I’d become. Six months ago my my older brother told me straight to my face, “I wouldn’t employ you.” He is quite successful so that really broke my heart.

“I knew a change had to come. I’d never worked before and had no idea how to get a job. I went to the job centre and they handed me a Spear leaflet. It went straight to the bottom of the pile. I didn’t think it was for me. But a week later I got a phone call from Sam, who is the centre manager at Hammersmith, and he told me to come to see him for a chat. Just the thought that someone wanted me to come out of the house to meet them really helped me.

“Spear helped boost my confidence and think about what I wanted to do with my life. I hadn’t been out of the house for so long that I didn’t know where to start. I learnt about having a long-term mindset and the importance of communicating well, and I’m motivated now. Spear was definitely right for me and the programme gave me a positive mindset going in to work, as well as the skills to actually apply for jobs and be successful at interview.

“I started to go on a diet and six months later I’ve lost almost six stone. I’m now working as a Brand Promoter at Heathrow Airport. My family, including my brother, are all really proud of me now.”

One way to help this charity is with money. Another is with your time. For instance by becoming A mock interviewer:

“Mock Interviews are a key part of the Spear programme. Many young people on Spear have never had an interview before, so it’s a crucial experience to practise. Mock interviewers are volunteers from the local community – some are from businesses and others are individuals.

“The sessions take place every six weeks or so on a Friday afternoon from 3 – 5pm. Volunteers are welcome every time or as a one-off. A full briefing is given beforehand, though it helps if you have some experience of interviewing.”

An interesting proposal from Shaun Bailey, a London Assembly member and former Conservative candidate for Hammersmith regarding cash machines.

Shaun says:

“In the past two years, 40 bank branches have closed across the capital, making free withdrawals more difficult, while statistically many Londoners live more than one km from a free cash machine.

For many of us, the increased availability of card payment means this is often not an issue. But for elderly and disabled members of the community, getting access to cash can be very important.

Limited access to free ATMs also disproportionately affects lower income groups. On average, most cash machine fees charge £1.75 for a withdrawal but some can be as high as £5 or £10. Even at £1.75, a 17.5 per cent charge to withdraw £10 seems unfairly high.

He proposes a change to planning policies to “include suitable provision for free cash machines where necessary. Also to “promote the inclusion of free-to-use cash machines in public buildings.”

I have taken this up with Hammersmith and Fulham Council. My understanding is that the Council could also gain some useful revenue. This is because even when the customer isn’t charged the bank is. So firms will pay a fee to businesses (or other organisations) who host cash machines on their premises.

The Council’s Principal Business Investment Officer tells me:

“Departments have been asked to look at how the Council could include in the Local Plan or Supplementary Planning Guidance the requirement that master-planning for major developments should include suitable provision for free cash machines where necessary, and also classify free cash machines as ‘social infrastructure’ within the Local Plan, and CIL/s106 guidance.  

“This will assist the Council in working with local businesses, developers and public bodies to promote the inclusion of free-to-use cash machines in public buildings, and with the London Mayor work to ensure that there should be a free-to-use cash machine at where possible at London Underground, London Overground, TfL Rail, DLR stations and TfL property.”

An encouraging reply.

Cllr Mark Loveday

The Council’s Finance and Delivery Policy and Accountability Committee last night included an item I had requested Superfast Broadband rollout across the borough and was attended by a representative from BT Openreach.

Given the high density of our borough we should be leading the way – yet we are below the London average. 94.3 per cent of our properties have access to Superfast Broadband in London overall it is 95.3 per cent.

BT Openreach had plans to roll it out to another 6,600 homes in Hammersmith and Fulham, which is in fact only 20 street cabinets. They have, however, formally suspended any further rollout as a result of a dispute with the Council. The dispute relates to the Council’s categorisation of the street works which are required to provide the cabling for the cabinets. This in turn depends on the interpretation of the New Roads and Street Works Act.

The Council says the works would be major works, which require a certain period of notice and a fee of £326, whilst Openreach say they are standard works, which would require a few days’ notice and a fee of £130. On non-traffic sensitive streets the fee difference is even less (£223 for major works and £75 for standard works). It therefore comes down to a monetary difference of less than £4,000 and a dispute about principle (which both sides say would set a precedent for other utility companies or for other boroughs).

The Committee expressed its frustration about the fact that 6,600 homes were going without access to fibre broadband because of this pretty pathetic dispute. Both sides agreed to talk about it further. More significantly, they both agreed with a suggestion from Cllr Mark Loveday that they should consider mediation if it could not be resolved quickly.