Earl sparks fury in Devon village after blocking plans for superfast broadband in row over four poles being put up on his land

  • Residents in Upton Pyne, Devon, say 5th Earl of Iddesleigh is being 'ridiculous'  
  • The small village has had to work off broadband speeds of just two megabits
  • Plans were advanced and BT installed fibre broadband cabinet but it is unused 
  • Earl wants cables buried because poles would have to cross an 'unspoilt valley'

A wealthy aristocrat has sparked fury in a village after blocking plans for superfast broadband by refusing to allow four poles to be put up on his land.

Local residents in Upton Pyne, Devon, have accused the 5th Earl of Iddesleigh of being 'ridiculous' for not allowing BT permission to complete the work.

The village where Earl John Stafford Northcote, 60, lives – which is home to around 300 people - has had to work off broadband speeds of just two megabits.

The land owned by the 5th Earl of Iddesleigh outside of Upton Pyne in Devon, where he has refused plans to erect four poles to carry a broadband cable

The land owned by the 5th Earl of Iddesleigh outside of Upton Pyne in Devon, where he has refused plans to erect four poles to carry a broadband cable

Plans were at an advanced stage and BT installed a cabinet to take fibre broadband last November - but six months later it remains unused

Plans were at an advanced stage and BT installed a cabinet to take fibre broadband last November - but six months later it remains unused

Councillor Bob Short of Upton Pyne and Cowley Parish Council said 'nobody wants poles', but added: 'Surely four more isn't going to be too much of an inconvenience for the countryside?'

Councillor Bob Short of Upton Pyne and Cowley Parish Council said 'nobody wants poles', but added: 'Surely four more isn't going to be too much of an inconvenience for the countryside?'

Plans were at an advanced stage and BT installed a cabinet to take fibre broadband last November - but six months later it remains unused.

There is currently a gap of just four poles needed join the fibre optic cables that are on the Earl's land - but he is refusing to allow the development to go ahead.

And without the backing of the Earl, who owns a 2,500-acre estate, BT said there was nothing it could do to progress.

A spokesman for the company told how it was 'disappointed that it is currently not viable to provide superfast fibre broadband for the village'. 

Without the backing of the Earl, who owns a 2,500-acre estate near the village (pictured), BT said there was nothing it could do to progress

Without the backing of the Earl, who owns a 2,500-acre estate near the village (pictured), BT said there was nothing it could do to progress

A spokesman for BT told how it was 'disappointed that it is currently not viable to provide superfast fibre broadband for the village'

A spokesman for BT told how it was 'disappointed that it is currently not viable to provide superfast fibre broadband for the village'

The firm said no agreement had been reached with the Earl, despite two meetings with him, on 'either an overhead or underground cable across the landowner's fields'

The firm said no agreement had been reached with the Earl, despite two meetings with him, on 'either an overhead or underground cable across the landowner's fields'

There is currently a gap of just four poles needed join the fibre optic cables that are on the Earl's land - but he is refusing to allow the development to go ahead

There is currently a gap of just four poles needed join the fibre optic cables that are on the Earl's land - but he is refusing to allow the development to go ahead

The firm said no agreement had been reached with the Earl, despite two meetings with him, on 'either an overhead or underground cable across the landowner's fields'.

Speaking from his farm, the Earl said he had no comment to make in response to criticism from neighbours, adding that he had become frustrated in his dealings with BT on the issue.

He said: 'It is a waste of time. BT haven't replied to me, so why should I reply?'

Earl's only son who was caught drink driving 

The Earl's only son and current heir to the estate is Viscount Thomas Stafford St Cyres who made headlines in 2009 when he was caught drink driving for the second time after boasting about his binge drinking habits online.

Son: Viscount Thomas Stafford St Cyres

Son: Viscount Thomas Stafford St Cyres

Now 32, the young aristocrat posted dozens of pictures of himself on social networking sites with captions including 'Drunk as a Lord'. St Cyres posted on his Bebo page drinking lager, wine and champagne in numerous photographs.

He labelled his social networking site 'Self-indulgence is not a crime', talked about 'debauchery' and added 'Still drinking too much gin, but then again what's new?'

Another image showed him in a brightly striped jacket holding a pint of lager with the comment: 'Lovely blazer, shame about the chap wearing it!'

Under another grinning picture he wrote: 'I fail to remember when this was taken (at which point during dins). I look fairly sloshed so must be late on... Or is that how I look most of the time?!'

St Cyres, a classics graduate, was banned from the road for three years.

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A spokesman for the Earl said he was not against bringing broadband to Upton Pyne, but preferred the cables to be buried because telegraph poles would have to cross an 'unspoilt valley'. 

Councillor Bob Short of Upton Pyne and Cowley Parish Council said: 'In the interests of keeping the countryside looking pretty for everybody, nobody wants poles.

'But it's the case that they'd not be the only ones in the area, there are poles everywhere. Surely four more isn't going to be too much of an inconvenience for the countryside?'

Other villagers said the broadband was desperately needed.

One, who did not want to be named, said: 'It's an absolute disgrace. We suffer from really bad broadband here and someone who has power from a medieval land grab.

'It is a ridiculous situation.'

Another local added: 'The internet is so slow my son can't do his homework if I go on too. It's very, very frustrating.

'We've got lots of poles around here - will four more matter?'

John Howells, 38, who works from home as a photographer and artist, said: 'When I want to load images, it's very, very slow.

'If it gets very desperate I have to drive to my girlfriend's in the countryside - and that's 25 miles away.'

And Fabian King added: 'We've got the cabinet here and we've got the fibre optic cable on the poles. There's one gap of four poles, that's all we need to sew it up.'

The family residence was historically Pynes House, a 70 room 21,000 sq ft rural palace similar to Downton Abbey where the clocks mysteriously stopped in 1939.

The 2nd Earl of Iddesleigh once claimed the house was the inspiration for Barton Park, which features in Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility.

But several decades ago, the 4th Earl of Iddesleigh parted with his ancestral pile and moved to a smaller house nearby where his widow still lives - Shillands House near Exeter.

The current 5th Earl lives in Newton St Cyres in a Grade II-listed farmhouse built in the late 18th or early 19th century.

A representative of the Earl said: 'My client is not objecting to broadband, nor has he formally objected to the poles.

'There is information outstanding by BT, but his preference is for the cables to go underground so there is no further spoiling of the area. I will represent him at the meeting next month when the issue will be discussed.' 

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