The Greater Manchester street where residents fear homes may plunge in value after “eyesore” mast erected

Furious residents fear their homes may have plunged in value after an “eyesore” 50ft-high broadband mast was erected within inches of their doorstep.

Homeowners on Clarendon Street, in Rochdale, worry their properties may have dropped by as much as £20,000 after the pole was put up without warning. The huge metal beam is one of dozens built across Greater Manchester by telecoms company IX Wireless, which it says will give locals access to highspeed internet.

But residents are angry that they weren't consulted about the pole, which has been placed just ten inches (25cm) from one of the properties. And they even fear that some of the homes, which are valued at around £120,000, may now be unsellable in the future.

Housewife Sheila Scott, 65, said she was stunned when workers put up the massive pole on August 18 this year close to her three-bed terraced property.

The mum-of-three said: “It just got put up. We never got told about it. They just fitted it, and that was it really. We’re not going to be able to sell our properties with that on our doorstep.

“We're worried it’s chipping off maybe £10,000 or £20,000 from our homes. Who wants to live with one of these on your doorstep? It shouldn’t have even been put there. You don’t see pylons around houses. They wouldn’t put it up in the rich places, they wouldn’t stand for it."

Sheila, whose home lies around 60ft (18m) from the pole, said she was also shocked at how close it was to one of her neighbour’s property.

She added: “We have measured it and it's ten inches. It’s so close to the house you can’t go behind it. They have no right to put these things up.”

Retired secondhand furniture seller, Alan Chadwick, 76, who lives with his wife Ann, 78, said he was also shocked when the massive pole suddenly appeared. And though he said he’d got used to staring at it from his window, he too worried that the value of local homes could now fall dramatically.

The great-grandad-of-three said: “I didn’t know anything, they just came and put it up on August 18.

“There was no news or anything. They just came on a Friday morning and this went up. Nobody told us anything about it. It’s an eyesore but you get used to it. The lady who lives in the house next to it can’t do anything. The house was shaking when they put the post in. They might have done something to the foundation.

“I don’t know who would want to buy that house in front of it if they sell. It’s just going to have to be knocked down, I think. People say we need the technology. If it was put in the right place, I agree, but that place is just ridiculous.”

The uproar comes after previous residents across Greater Manchester staged protests after poles were put up on their streets. And last week, plans for 29 of the masts, which can deliver broadband speeds of up to 300Mb, were approved to be built across Oldham.

IX Wireless claims on its website that its masts cost 90% less than traditional ‘"dig and cover" fibre-optic broadband operations. And they were hailed by the former Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Oliver Dowden as "a levelling up game changer" in 2020.

IX Wireless and Rochdale Borough Council have been contacted for comment.