16/03/2026
Fibre Network Update
I understand there have been some further concerns from local residents, particularly in the Seathwaite valley, about upcoming road closure for work involving Fibrus. I responded to similar concerns earlier last year and want to explain again the reasons behind the ongoing plans.
Fibrus continue to make steady progress with installing the fibre network and when completed, it will be of huge benefit to our local community. They have connected over half of the contracted premises throughout Cumbria (about 36,000 premises out of 54,000) and our local area is now well on the way to completion.
There is more work planned over the coming weeks and some of it will lead to travel disruption and road closures. Details are available via the “OneNetwork” website - https://one.network/. Clicking on the closure permit allows you to check which utility provider has applied for the closure.
There will be access for locals during the listed closure periods and the workmen will intend to keep restrictions to a minimum where possible. They can't just simply block access to residents completely when there are no alternative diversions. The problem is due to the narrow width of the roads around here and any contractors, including Fibrus contractors, wanting to do work HAVE to apply for road closures through the council.
It's not a choice, they HAVE to do it, whether or not the road will actually be completely closed or not. There may just be work on part of the road but they have to apply to close it. And they often have to apply for more time than they actually need. In reality, there may be times where there are some delays but it is not necessarily as drastic as it sounds. There have been a number of notifications in our area over recent months listed as "closures" which have not materialised to the full extent of that publicised.
Do get in touch with me or contact Fibrus directly via the HyperfastGB contact page on their website - https://hyperfastgb.com/ I will pass on any concerns to Fibrus and ensure that they are noted.
When it gets to the time of an anticipated closure, please communicate with any engineers you see, express your travel needs and let them know times etc and they should be able to try and work around things. They will have an obligation to consider emergency vehicle access too, don't forget, so there are ways of making it work.
Welcome to Hyperfast GB – home for information and updates on our roll out plans for bringing Full Fibre broadband (delivered by Fibrus) to rural communities through Project Gigabit.
