More than 130 Nottinghamshire towns and village to go superfast

The communities that will benefit from a multi-million pound extension of superfast broadband in Nottinghamshire have been announced today by the County Council.

Over 130 towns and villages (see full list below) will either get access to fibre broadband for the first time or see existing provision boosted to superfast speeds by Spring 2018, thanks to contract two of the Better Broadband for Nottinghamshire (BBfN) programme, a partnership between Nottinghamshire County Council and BT.

Communities in every district of the county will be upgraded but the majority of improvements will be targeted at rural areas of Bassetlaw and Newark and Sherwood.

More than 17,000 homes and businesses will be able to benefit from the additional £9.2m investment. A timetable for delivery of the programme in each area is being developed and will be announced later this year.

Included in the locations planned to benefit from BBfN contract two are[1]:

• The Bassetlaw villages of Bothamsall, Normanton-on-Trent and Lound, where 95% of homes and businesses will be able to access high-speed broadband – a significant transformation, given there is no current fibre broadband coverage
• Strelley in Broxtowe, where fibre broadband coverage will increase from less than 10% to more than 80%
• Fiskerton cum Morton in Newark and Sherwood where local people have been campaigning for access to fibre broadband
• Kneesall, Hockerton and Syerston in Newark and Sherwood, where there is currently no fibre broadband provision
• The villages of Scarrington and Shelton in Rushcliffe, where more than 95% of properties will be able to access high-speed broadband despite there being no current fibre broadband coverage
• Lilley Close in Selston, the only street in the village still to be provided with access to fibre broadband

BBfN contract two will be funded by a number of organisations, including Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK), the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership, BT and Nottinghamshire County Council.

It builds on the delivery of broadband across Nottinghamshire under BBfN contract one, a £19.8m project, which has provided broadband access to more than 50,000 homes and businesses since June last year.

By the time the work is completed in Spring 2018, more than 80,000 properties will be covered by BBfN. When combined with the private sector’s commercial coverage in the county, it will mean 98% of Nottinghamshire homes and businesses will have access to fibre broadband, making the area one of the most digitally connected counties in the country.

As with the initial contract, the extended programme is being rolled-out in areas which are not served by commercial providers such as BT or Virgin Media – often giving homes and business access to fibre broadband for the first time.

Councillor Diana Meale, Chair of Economic Development Committee at Nottinghamshire County Council, said: “I am delighted that we are in a position to announce the towns and villages where we will be rolling out our next phase of the Better Broadband for Nottinghamshire programme, which is one of the largest and most ambitious infrastructure projects ever delivered in the county.

“In many instances, people and businesses living in those towns and villages have been unable to access the online services, learning, communication and opportunities that many of us now take for granted – but not for much longer.

"Digital connectivity is vital to future economic prosperity of Nottinghamshire. With 98% fibre coverage in the county by 2018, our county is at the forefront of digital connectivity in the UK, putting us in pole position to attract the growth and jobs that good broadband will support.”

Steve Henderson, BT’s regional director for next generation access, said: “The Better Broadband for Nottinghamshire partnership has made fibre broadband to tens of thousands of homes and businesses across the county. The announcement of these new locations is exciting news for all the local communities involved. The availability of fibre broadband opens up many opportunities online for both leisure and business purposes.”

Digital Economy Minister, Ed Vaizey said: “This is brilliant news for the 130 towns and villages in Nottinghamshire that will benefit from the extension of our superfast broadband rollout. More than 17,000 homes and businesses in the county will be able to boost their broadband speeds as a result and our nationwide rollout is on track to reach 95 per cent of the UK by 2017."

David Ralph, Chief Executive of D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership, said: "Digital broadband is a vital component for modern business operations and a priority for D2N2 for its area. We are investing £2.6million in Nottinghamshire's Better Broadband for Nottinghamshire programme and £2.19m for Derbyshire's Digital Derbyshire scheme, to widen business and community access to fibre optic technology."

Residents and businesses can find out more about the benefits of broadband and check if their property falls within the BBfN roll out areas at www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/broadband

Broadband upgrades are not made automatically and businesses and residents will need to make arrangements with an internet service provider to access the faster fibre service once they are available.

Benefits of fibre broadband include faster download and upload speeds; the ability to access the internet via multiple devices without experiencing a slow connection, faster downloads of films and music, a better online gaming experience, improved file sharing for businesses, solutions based on Cloud computing and being able to work more flexibly.

Areas covered by BBfN contract two are[2]:

Ashfield: Annesley, Sutton in Ashfield and Selston

Bassetlaw: Barnby Moor, Beckingham, Beckingham , Blyth, Bole, Bothamsall, Carlton in Lindrick, Cottam, East Markham, Eaton, Elkesley, Gamston, Harworth Bircotes, Haughton, Holbeck, Lound, Marnham, Misson, Misterton, Normanton on Trent , Norton, Rampton, Rhodesia, Scaftworth, Shireoaks, South Leverton, Styrrup with Oldcotes, Sutton, Treswell, Tuxford, Welbeck and West Drayton

Broxtowe: Beeston, Eastwood, Greasley, Nuthall, Strelley, Trowell, Watnall and Bestwood
 

Gedling: Burton Joyce, Calverton, Lambley, Papplewick, Ravenshead and Stoke Bardolph.

Mansfield: Forest Town, Mansfield, Shirebrook and Warsop.

Newark and Sherwood: Balderton, Barnby in the Willows, Besthorpe, Bilsthorpe, Bleasby, Blidworth, Caunton, Caythorpe, Clipstone, Collingham, Eakring, Edingley, Edwinstowe, Egmanton, Farnsfield, Girton, Fiskerton cum Morton, Gunthorpe, Halam, Harby, Hockerton, Holme, Kilvington, Kirklington, Kneesall , Laxton and Moorhouse, Lindhurst, Newark, North Clifton, Norwell, North Muskham, Ollerton and Boughton, Ompton, Ossington, Oxton, Rolleston, Rufford, South Clifton, South Muskham, South Scarle, Spalford, Staythorpe, Syerston, Sutton-on-Trent, Thurgarton, Weston and Wigsley.

Rushcliffe: Aslockton, Bingham, Car Colston, Colston Bassett, Cotgrave, East Bridgford, East Leake, Elton-on-the-Hill, Flintham, Granby, Hawksworth, Hickling, Keyworth, Kingston on Soar, Kinoulton, Normanton on Soar, Orston, Owthorpe, Radcliffe on Trent, Ruddington, Scarrington, Shelford and Newton, Shelton, Sibthorpe, Stanford on Soar, Sutton Bonington, Thrumpton, Tollerton, Whatton, Whatton-in-the-Vale and Widmerpool
 
 
Notes to editors

[1] The deployment plan and locations are subject to detailed planning, survey work and state aid assurance. They are therefore subject to change.

[2] The deployment plan and locations are subject to detailed planning, survey work and state aid assurance. They are therefore subject to change.