Work to bring superfast broadband to homes across the town will no longer happen after 11pm in Rodbourne, following a meeting with the borough council.

CityFibre claimed the council had allowed it to work during the night to minimise traffic disruption. But the authority says it agreed that noisy excavation work could take place out of hours before 11pm. 

It comes after residents complained about being kept awake at 3am by noise from heavy machinery and bright floodlights streaming into their bedrooms. They said their rooms vibrated from the power of the drilling.

One man who lives on Rodbourne Road told the Adver: “It’s just terrible. It’s not acceptable that I have to go to work the next morning when I can’t sleep because my whole flat is vibrating.

“I got home at 6pm on Wednesday and they were using jack hammers right through the night.

“I feel for people who are still working from home and all they can hear is that banging all the time.”

CityFibre has agreed with the council that its teams will not work in Rodbourne past 11pm and that they will keep the number of evenings  they work to a minimum. 

The firm’s manager for Swindon Neil Madle said: “We understand that infrastructure works can cause some disruption and we always endeavour to manage this closely with all stakeholders. 

“We are constantly working with our build and local authority partners to ensure we follow site regulations with agreed permits in place. 

“In this instance, we had been permitted to carry out works at night by SBC to minimise traffic disruption and avoid daytime lane closures on a main artery into town. 

“CityFibre is investing at least £40m to deliver a town-wide full fibre network that will future-proof Swindon’s digital infrastructure for decades to come. 

“This is a major undertaking, and we want to thank Swindon residents for their patience as we transform the town’s digital capabilities.”

A SBC spokesman added: “We approved out of hours working on the proviso that all works involving excavation and noisy machinery would not take place after 11pm at night. This is in line with national guidelines.

“We spoke to representatives of CityFibre and reminded them of their responsibilities while working adjacent to residential properties. 

“We will monitor and review the working practices to ensure this issue does not arise again for any future out of hours work.”