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Work has begun to give rural areas in Teesdale access to reliable, high speed broadband to increase business competitiveness.
The Digital Dale project, backed by Durham County Council in conjunction with One North East, is being led by Barnard Castle Vision in co-ordination with a number of local partners including Teesdale Enterprise Agency, Teesdale Action Partnership, local businesses and residents.
One North East’s Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) has approved £300,000 for the project with work being carried out by Networks By Wireless, the UK’s largest independent supplier of wireless infrastructure and mobility solutions.
The project will potentially offer benefits for 12,000 homes and 1,000 businesses once complete and will offer public internet access to over 100,000 visitors per year through WiFi zones in Barnard Castle and Middleton-in-Teesdale. Isolated farms and communities that currently have poor or no connectivity will also be approached.
Digital Britain and the North East Digital Strategy recognise the importance of broadband as the ‘fourth utility’ alongside water, electricity and gas. However, due to low population and geographical remoteness in rural areas public sector intervention is essential.
Adrian Sherwood, RDPE Manager at One North East, said: “Everyone who lives, works or visits Teesdale is in some way impacted by the lack of broadband and in this day and age connectivity is essential for business competitiveness.
“Farm businesses need to submit Defra returns online, it provides access to online shopping and services for those in isolated communities or who are housebound and also reduces the need for travel and enables people to work from home.
“It is essential that rural communities are not at a disadvantage and this project will allow Teesdale to compete on an equal basis which is crucial to allow prosperity.”
Work has just begun on the project which is expected to be completed by the end of 2011 with priority being given to those areas that do not have connectivity and where population and demand is highest.
This includes installation of a WiFi zone in Middleton-in-Teesdale, high speed broadband access in the offices of the Upper Teesdale Agricultural Support Services (UTASS) and high speed access in each community, either through schools, village halls or other publicly-accessible buildings.
Deborah Jenkins, Chair of Barnard Castle Vision, said: “High speed broadband is excellent news for both businesses and individuals in Teesdale, and is a vital step forward in enabling businesses of all kinds to thrive here. This project puts Teesdale way ahead of many other areas of the country in terms of connectivity, and we expect it to play a major part in the region’s future economic growth.”
A survey by Barnard Castle Vision and the Enterprise Agency for Wear Valley and Teesdale in 2008 found that there is currently a great need for better connectivity in Teesdale. As well as identifying many areas of poor or no connectivity, it collated many responses from businesses and residents who wanted or needed better broadband in order to stay in the area.
Cllr Neil Foster, Portfolio Holder for Economic Regeneration, said: “There is no doubt that this connectivity to high speed broadband will create economic growth for the local communities and businesses in the dales area.”
The Rural Development Programme for England 2007-2013 is jointly funded by Defra and the European Union, with the aim of delivering targeted support to rural businesses and communities. It is managed in North East England by One North East, Natural England and the Forestry Commission.
The RDPE investment being managed by One North East combines larger projects to help many businesses in different sectors of the rural economy - including bioenergy and land-based skills, and projects adding value to agricultural and forestry products - with smaller investments to help individual businesses to start-up, grow or diversify, and support to develop more sustainable rural communities.
RDPE Business Support is part of Solutions for Business, the Government’s package of publicly funded support products offering help to companies to start, grow and succeed. Solutions for Business makes it easier for companies to get the advice and assistance that they need.
For further information on the full package of support, visit www.businesslink.gov.uk/northeast.or call Tel: 0845 600 9006.
For more information on RDPE in North East England, visit: www.rdpenortheast.co.uk
For more information on RDPE, visit:
http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/rurdev/index_en.htm
http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/rdpe/index.htm
Ends.
For more information, contact Alison Laggan (press office) on 0191 229 6613, mobile 07766 424400 or email alison.laggan@onenortheast.co.uk
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