Villagers can look forward to being better connected in the near future as work finally got underway on a new phone mast this week.
Residents living in Manea have been calling for better phone signal for years and were left disappointed in 2020 when Fenland Council’s planning officers refused permission for a mast on a strip of land outside the village cemetery in Park Road.
Hardly a parish council went by without the issue of poor signal being raised with residents describing parts of Manea as a ‘black hole’ when it came to using a mobile.
In August 2022 there was a collective sigh of relief when planners finally agreed permission for a mast to be put up on the opposite side of Park Road in front of the playing field.
But it has still taken a further two years for work on the installation of the mast to start, and it started today (Tuesday).
Posting to the village’s Facebook discussion page Councillor Ben Bonos, parish council chair, said: “The groundworks for the installation of the new phone mast have started today. If everything stays on schedule the new pole will be installed on July 8.
“Difficult to sum up this project. At my first council meeting just over five years ago the first Park Road location had just been refused by Fenland Council planning. Since then we've had to overcome issues with planning officers, trees, land ownership, acquisition, radio requirements, and fibre availability. Even Covid had a good go at derailing us.
“Connectivity issues, whether they are physical or digital are among the biggest disadvantages faced by people who live in rural communities, restricting opportunities for all. It shouldn't be this hard to get things done – But we got there in the end.”
