Rural Worcestershire Gets £1m+ Government Grant For Super-Fast Broadband

1,400 rural homes and businesses in Worcestershire will receive high-speed broadband as a result of a £1 million+ government grant that took over two years to come to fruition.

The £1,147,032 grant comes from the Broadband Delivery UK [BDUK] scheme run by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport [DCMS] and will mean that over 90 per cent of the county will have access to the service over the next three years.

“The county-wide scheme is already ambitious and committed to reaching over 90 per cent of our residents and businesses and this further funding will help us to extend that reach into more rural areas where we know this will support both residents and businesses,” councillor Simon Geraghty told Worcester News. “I would encourage everyone to sign up via our website to receive updates about any improvements in your local area."

Worcestershire’s grant comes after tireless work by community representatives for the past two years and is in addition to the £3.35 million that was previously invested in the county’s broadband scheme by the government through BDUK.

Various communities can expect to benefit from the scheme, including Abberley, Defford and Besford, Honeybourne and Pebworth, Ombersley, Doverdale and Holt, Welland, Castlemorton and Birtsmorton.

“The UK already does more business online than any other European country and widespread access to superfast speeds will provide a welcome boost to Worcestershire's economy,” said Communities Minister Ed Vaizey.

The latest announcement comes after the launch of a new £10 million fund in March designed to complement the existing £1.2 billion BDUK initiative that is bringing the Internet to rural communities.

BDUK is continuing to make significant tracks when it comes to the roll out of superfast broadband and it’s all part of a pledge to bring the service to 95 per cent of the country by 2017.