02/07/2014 - Permalink

Connecting Shropshire’s update on phase 2 of the Superfast Extension Programme

Related topics: Community / Partner organisations

Recently, Shropshire Council met with Chris Townsend, the new Chief Executive of Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK), to discuss Phase 2 of the Superfast Extension Programme (SEP) and review our current progress building a network of faster fibre broadband.

The meeting – attended by Keith Barrow, Leader of Shropshire Council; Clive Wright, Shropshire Council’s chief executive; and Steve Charmley, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member responsible for broadband – picked up on the key issue of match funding the £11.38m SEP allocation for Shropshire.

Work continues to identify potential sources of match funding with the Broadband Partnership that was set up in April 2014, with discussions already taking place with the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership alongside exploring other sources of public and private sector investment.  In the meantime, the council has asked that BDUK formally commits its continued financial support to Shropshire and that the £11.38m allocation is still earmarked for Shropshire.

Shropshire Council currently has unprecedented funding constraints which means we are unable to offer any match funding of our own at present.  However, the council is committed to the BDUK programme and providing all of our residents and businesses with access to fibre-based broadband in the long term.

Steve Charmley said:

“The existing programme continues to deliver at pace, with 55 roadside cabinets now live and accepting orders.  Having said that, we always knew that we’d require additional funding to provide improved broadband access to more residents and businesses, especially those far away from the existing fibre network.  We’re ambitious in identifying match funding, as we recognise how important fast broadband is for all our communities.  We appreciate the continued support of BDUK and look forward to building on the excellent work of the programme to date.”

At this stage over 11,000 premises are within reach of the new fibre optic network laid by Connecting Shropshire.  Phase 1 of the current national BDUK programme is due to be completed in Shropshire by spring 2016.