Tim Farron presses Minister to resolve broadband issues in Eden villages

Cumbrian MP Tim Farron has pressed the Minister responsible for digital infrastructure and telecoms, Sir Chris Bryant, to intervene to help communities in Eden which are experiencing poor broadband connections.

The rural villages of Ormside, Warcop, Hilton, and Murton near Appleby, have been left in limbo as to whether they will receive high-speed broadband under the Government’s Project Gigabit.

Meanwhile these communities had previously been on the verge of getting hyperfast broadband through Broadband for the Rural North (B4RN), until the Government vouchers which would have made the B4RN connection possible were pulled at the last minute.

Speaking during a Westminster Hall debate on Project Gigabit, Tim said: “I want to press the Minister - this is my one ask of him - on whether he will ensure that those parishes I have listed, Ormside, Warcop, Hilton and Murton, are either given a date for connection under Project Gigabit, or are descoped so that vouchers can be made available and B4RN can then step in and fill the gap. 

“We had a public meeting in the snow in Murton last December - next weekend it will be 12 months ago - where BDUK made all sorts of promises of which it has fulfilled absolutely none.

“Will the Minister give personal attention to either descoping those communities so they can get broadband through the B4RN and the voucher system, or give Fibrus - and more importantly BDUK - a kick up the backside to make sure they bring the communities into scope, and give a date in the next few months so that those communities, which are very remote in many other ways, are connected properly to gigabit broadband speed?”

Responding, Minister Sir Chris Bryant said: “He rightly gave a list of villages, which were Warcop, Hilton, Murton and Ormside, about which BDUK is presently in the process of negotiating. 

“I do not want to descope at this point, because I very much hope that we will get to a resolution in the next month, but he makes a strong point. If it proves necessary to abandon ship, as it were, he can come back at me on that.”