A fund helping to bring superfast broadband to some of the most rural parts of Northumberland has received a multi-million pound cash boost. Leading county councillors agreed an uplift of £2 million for the project, bringing the total to £3.5 million.
The Superfast Programme of broadband is a joint project between the Government, the council and BT, with the latter delivering the necessary infrastructure. As part of the agreement, if the takeup of superfast broadband exceeded 20%, BT would be required to repay public money to the council and the Government in what is known as a gainshare payment.
Residents in Northumberland have some of the highest take-up rates in the entire country, standing at around 75%. As a result, the local authority has had a significant return on its investment, with the cash being ploughed back into further broadband improvements.
Speaking at Wednesday’s meeting of the council’s cabinet, deputy leader Coun Richard Wearmouth said: “We have over-performed as a delivery partner in the roll-out of superfast broadband.
“Because there are revenues for BT and others, and we get some of the money back. That allows us to turbo charge still further that delivery in those difficult to reach parts of the county.
“You will appreciate how difficult that can be for some of the rural parts of the county. This will help some of those difficult to reach properties.
“It is very welcome and we look forward to seeing this.”
More than 96% of Northumberland now benefits from speeds of more than 30Mbps (megabytes per second). This is only slightly below the national figure of 98% despite the county’s rural nature.
Council leader Glen Sanderson, who represents the rural Longhorsley ward, added: “It is extremely important that we continue the fight – and sometimes that’s what it is – to provide a service that everybody should be entitled to.
“Living in a remote part of Northumberland shouldn’t mean you can’t have 21st century technology. We still have around three per cent of properties that can’t be delivered yet, but we will continue on that.”
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