Chalford residents who suffered "enormous stress" during a broadband install last year have been told an urgent repair is why they were not warned about work recently starting again.
The county's highways boss, cllr Vernon Smith, has said the reason behind contractors returning to the village's high street was to fix a fault that knocked out the internet of 150 customers.
He was replying to councillor Rachel Smith, who at Shire Hall yesterday had sought to clarify why Chalford residents were not given prior warning about Complete Utilities's return to their high street two weeks ago.
"Over a six month period in 2018 the residents of Chalford High Street - a narrow, single-track road - suffered enormous stress and inconvenience when the road was closed due to disruption following the installation of the Fastershire broadband programme," she said on Wednesday.
"Efforts were made by the parish council and residents, with the contractors, Gigaclear and their sub-contractor Complete Utilities, to arrive at an agreement for clear communication with the parish council and the residents about how any future work would take place.
"In the last two weeks, the subcontractor, Complete Utilities, have once again begun work on the High St, without prior warning to the parish council, or the residents, including work starting at 6.30am in the morning."
Drilling, damage to walls and even blood-curdling screams were among the complaints of residents when work took place to bring them faster broadband last year.
In May, one worker who had been lying on his stomach in the road reaching in to a trench had his legs run over by a digger, prompting an ambulance and air ambulance to rush to the scene.
Gigaclear, contracted by Gloucestershire County Council to rollout high speed broadband, apologised at the time and sent representatives to meet with residents.
But further disruption for high street residents came in June with the collapse of a wall supporting the road.
Water flooded - and houses had to be evacuated - when the wall collapsed
Cllr Vernon Smith responded to cllr Rachel Smith by saying: "I appreciate the frustrations local residents can have with utility works – particularly when they are long-lasting. GCC works to coordinate street works where we can - but utility companies have a statutory right to lay and maintain apparatus.
"For major schemes such as the broadband rollout, we work with utility companies and help them find the best approach in order to completet the work, at this stage we apply conditions, such as manual control of traffic lights at peak hours to reduce congestion.
"The works promoter (utility in this case) is responsible for informingr residents and businesses that works are going to take place in the area, this may be in the form of advanced warning signs or a letter drop with contact details, so that if anyone has a concern they can call the company direct.
"Many people will contact GCC directly if they have a question about the works, this suits us as it makes us aware of any potential problems that may occur at the works site.
"The last work mentioned in the question relates to Complete Utilities working on an urgent repair on their network as 150 customers were off supply.
"All utilities have a statutory right to carry out urgent/emergency work without notification in advance, where it is not practical to provide it."
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