Plans afoot to camouflage broadband street cabinets

Plans are being hatched to camouflage broadband street cabinets in a bid to reduce their visual impact, government culture spokesman Viscount Younger of Leckie has told the House of Lords.

Frequent concerns have been expressed over the location of these cabinets, which are used to bring super-fast broadband to communities.

Earlier this year, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea blocked plans from BT to install 96 of 108 new cabinets in the area on the grounds that they would ruin the "historic streetscape".

Lord Howarth of Newport, Labour's former Culture Minister, accused the government of allowing broadband providers to position cabinets wherever they want without taking the local environment into consideration, reports BBC News.

However, Viscount Younger insisted communications firms are not being given "carte blanche" over the placement of broadband equipment, with councils still able to block cabinet installations in "exceptional circumstances".

He revealed plans are afoot to make these containers less obtrusive, allowing them to "blend in where possible".

"They will not be on every street corner. They will be on occasional streets, sited very discreetly," Viscount Younger added.