Weston Rise, Islington

The Development

Just a short walk from King’s Cross along Pentonville Road, Weston Rise Estate is a striking example of post-war brutalist architecture. Built between 1964 and 1967 by Howell, Killick, Partridge & Amis, the estate was designed as a high-density housing scheme for the Greater London Council. It consists of five interconnected blocks (a mix of maisonettes and flats), with 147 dwellings in total. The blocks are linked by towers that contain lifts, staircases, and refuse chutes — typical of the era’s design ethos, prioritising structure and materials over ornamentation.

The Proposal

Weston Rise is a fibre deployment project for Islington Council, deployed as part of a multi-site deployment of 4Fibre to around 10,000 of Islington Council properties in the most complicated of their buildings.

The brief was clear: install a single, future-ready network that would enable full-fibre connectivity while preserving the aesthetics, fire safety, and structural integrity of each building.

The Challenge

The estate presented complex logistical and technical barriers; indeed, two ISPs had assessed Weston Rise and concluded that an external wiring solution wasn’t viable—leaving internal routing as the only option.

However, internal risers were found to be filled with asbestos, eliminating that route entirely.

4Fibre engineered a tailored external solution, combining upward abseiling, MEWPs (mobile elevating work platforms), and the discreet installation of trays and conduits along walkways to create a low-visibility, high-performance network path.

By overcoming a series of complex technical and logistical challenges, 4Fibre delivered a robust, full-fibre system—capable of supporting up to four ISPs via a single shared infrastructure.

The Deployment

Preserving the estate’s visual integrity was a core priority.

All external cabling was carefully routed to remain invisible from street level, ensuring the architectural character of the buildings was maintained.

Points of Entry (POEs) were installed in discreet, accessible locations—either just outside front doors or on balconies—ready for straightforward resident connections.

To minimise disruption, avoid known underground blockages, and reduce civil works, 4Fibre collaborated with Islington Council to pre-agree cable routes and implement a smart network topology. All blocks were linked back to a single ‘meet-me point,’ enabling ISPs to feed their input lines into one central hub, serving the entire estate via shared 4Fibre infrastructure.

Communal spaces, including the hall and concierge areas, were pre-wired to provide immediate access for ISPs delivering services to the landlord.

Beyond technical complexity, the project also faced market challenges. ISPs like G.Network, Community Fibre, and Hyperoptic had slowed their deployment in the area, while BT Openreach and VM02 were not active at all.

To address this, SCCI brokered a deal with Community Fibre (CFL) to provide service from our MDU network back to their core infrastructure—despite the nearest CFL capacity being 1.3km away. This situation exemplifies the type of market barrier flagged by the BDUK Urban ‘Not Spot’ list.

Weston Rise now stands as a key opportunity to showcase the power of 4Fibre to the BDUK and DSIT barrier-busting taskforce—demonstrating how intelligent infrastructure can unlock connectivity in hard-to-serve urban areas.

Fibre services were deployed via four Distribution Points (DPs), each connected back to a single meet-me point. This allows up to four ISPs to serve the estate without additional cabling through the building.

All planning, design, liaison, core drilling, containment, access plant, cabling, and fire-stopping were carried out by SCCI. On completion, the network was fully spliced, tested, and ready for service.

The Conclusion

Completed in January 2025, Weston Rise is arguably the most complex estate in Islington’s portfolio—and now one of the best connected.

Thanks to a strong partnership with Islington Council, services were delivered at no cost to residents, managing agents, or the freeholder. The project was executed with minimal disruption, while significantly improving the building’s future readiness, resident appeal, and overall value.

By deploying a single, shared infrastructure—rather than having multiple ISPs install separate cabling over time—4Fibre’s solution preserves the building’s aesthetics, safety, and structural integrity, while maximising space and minimising disruption.

The full-fibre network was successfully installed in just six weeks, offering residents access to gigabit-capable connectivity across all four blocks.

This collaborative, precisely planned, and expertly delivered project not only brought resilient connectivity to a BDUK-designated ‘not spot’ area but also set a benchmark for how barrier-busting fibre rollouts should be delivered. A prime example of how 4Fibre continues to lead the way in overcoming rollout barriers through excellent engineering, intelligent design, collaboration, consideration, & coordination.

4Fibre's Approach leads the way through: 

• Reducing carbon emissions and environmental impact

• Delivering social value through enhanced digital inclusion

• Protecting building safety and integrity via single-infrastructure design

• Improving governance, full compliance to golden thread principles

• Minimising disruption and future-proofing installations

SCCI Alphatrack was delighted to receive a glowing testimonial from a key stakeholder:

"The Western Rise Estate project was a particularly complex undertaking, requiring careful planning and coordination to ensure minimal disruption to residents and the building’s operations.

SCCI Alphatrack demonstrated outstanding patience and strategic foresight in meticulously planning the works around the specific needs of the estate.

Throughout the project, SCCI Alphatrack and I worked in close collaboration to effectively manage the expectations of Islington Council.

Our joint effort ensured clear communication, efficient progress, and a strong alignment with all stakeholder requirements.

The execution of the works was carried out with exceptional care, attention to detail, and professionalism.

The final outcome not only met but significantly exceeded expectations.

The SCCI Alphatrack team consistently displayed a high level of diligence, courtesy, and respect — going well beyond what is typically expected on a project of this nature.

Their commitment to excellence was evident in every aspect of their work, and it was a pleasure to partner with them on this successful project."

Dave Bradford, Electrical Inspector for the Broadband Delivery Team.

A showcase of smart engineering, intelligent design, and joined-up collaboration—Weston Rise is proof of what’s possible when public and private partners work together to unlock digital access for all.