Weston Broadband - Final update 27/7/22

Sadly, the people of Weston did not take up the offer of free fibre to the premises. A total of 20 homes and 3 businesses pledged their support which was only just over a quarter of the total needed to future proof Weston.

Thank you to those who pledged and to those who put so much time and effort into trying to make this happen.

The project has now been cancelled until further notice

 

 

The Parish Council have received several comments about the Broadband in Weston, both in terms of speed and reliability. In an effort to address these, the council have, in conjunction with NCC Broadband Engagement Officer, approached Openreach with a view to installing Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) in Weston. This would result in not only potentially reaching Gigabit speeds but also increasing the reliability of the broadband in the village.

At the moment, Openreach are putting together a budgetary figure for installing FTTP in all the Weston premises served by the Sutton on Trent Exchange. Once this is known then we will be providing more information to residents so that you can make a decision if you would like to partake in the scheme.

The Gigabit broadband voucher scheme is worth £1500 for each person and £3500 per small and medium sized business that signs up to receive the upgrade. At the moment Nottinghamshire County Council are matching this, meaning that each person and business could be worth £3000 and £7000 respectively.

Update 11th February 2021.

We have received a budgetary figure from Openreach to install FTTC into 146 premises in Weston. If just 60 houses in Weston committed to the scheme, then the whole cost of installing this into our village would be met by the voucher. After consultation with the NCC Community Broadband Officer, I have written to Openreach asking them to provide a firm figure along with the appropriate paperwork so that all villagers can make an informed choice.

Update 6th May 2021

We have now received the firm bid from openreach to install FTTC into 146 premises in Weston. The next step is to have a meeting with Openreach and the NCC officer to set out the practical steps to make this happen.

We will be contacting all households and businesses on the list in the near future to get your support for the voucher scheme which will enable us to future proof the village and deliver a better, faster and more reliable broadband service.

Update 26th January 2022

We have, through openreach, applied to the DCMS for the scheme and are awaiting their approval. This is a long process so residents should be aware that we may not hear for some months. Rest assured, I am pushing for updates regularly.

Update 14th June 2022

We have had confirmation that our scheme has been approved by the DCMS. The next step is for village properties and businesses to pledge to sign up to a fibre scheme within two months of the system being installed.  I have sought confirmation on the Nottinghamshire County Council scheme referenced in the below email.

Please bear in mind that, given the reduced cost to install this into the village, (£140k rather than £172k) we would need 47 residential properties or 24 businesses or a combination thereof to reach our goal. The more pledges we receive the quicker we can get to the total and get Weston upgraded.

 

Hi Glyn,

Thanks for your patience whilst we waited for approval on the funding for your scheme. I’m pleased to say that your scheme was approved and your pledging portal is now live. Please read the information below carefully, and then share this link with the properties in your scheme to enable them to start pledging: Connect my community (openreach.com). Please remember that only the properties listed in the final offer will be able to pledge.

 

By pledging their support for the scheme, properties should be aware that they are agreeing to the pledge terms and conditions. You can view these here: RGC pledge terms (openreach.com). As we’ve discussed previously, the main thing to be aware of is that people will be required to place an order for full fibre broadband within a few weeks of it becoming available. If people do not wish to place an order, they should not make a pledge for a voucher (the legal entity will be liable for any losses incurred by properties who have an issued voucher but do not place an order for a full fibre service).

 

Your voucher values are £3500 for business properties and £1500 for residential properties. Your pledge target is £141,944. This is the new cost for your scheme – it has reduced since we sent you your final costing as we’ve run it on our most updated costings model.

 

Once you’ve hit 100% (or above) of your target we will prepare the contract for signature, request a target delivery date from our delivery team and apply for the vouchers from DCMS. Grateful if you could please send over the details of the legal entity that will sign the contract at your earliest convenience.

 

Once we have applied for the vouchers, all properties that have pledged will receive an email from DCMS asking them to validate their voucher. It is at this stage that DCMS may require more information to validate a business voucher. Therefore, it is really important that any business pledgers check that they will be able to provide the information DCMS will require before they pledge for a business voucher. I’ve attached again the information that DCMS requires for reference. Please remember that the business needs to be registered at the property address. The scheme will be at risk if we are unable to turn all pledges into issued vouchers.

 

The pledge site usually stays open for three months. However, voucher funding in Nottinghamshire will be paused on 15th July when the Government starts the process of deciding which properties will be included in Project Gigabit – a Government programme aimed at finding a network provider to serve the hardest to reach properties in the county. Therefore, to enable us to secure the funding for your scheme we need to have the vouchers issued for your scheme before this date so please encourage pledges ASAP.

 

Typically a full fibre broadband service costs around £30-£40 a month and properties can choose from a large number of providers. You can view the list of service providers that sell full fibre broadband using our network in your area here: Ultrafast Full Fibre broadband service providers | Openreach.

 

Please do let me know if you have any questions, otherwise, I look forward to seeing your progress. Happy pledging!

 

If you want more information, contact the co-ordinator, Glyn Francis on 07792326912 or glyn.francis@btopenworld.com