Update and good news on the roll-out of broadband across rural Northumberland

Last week I had a detailed meeting with BT, and received an update from Northumberland County Council, on the roll-out of broadband across Tynedale.

Access to broadband is a vital amenity for any household in the modern era, but especially so for those in the more rural parts of the UK. In this, rural Northumberland is a prime example. We are almost at the end of phase 1 of the roll out, which has seen all major towns and significant villages covered. There are some teething problems on phase one in villages like Byrness village, but having seen BT this week, I am assured they are being fixed, which is good. Certainly the Byrness village problems are being fixed.

On phase 2 I received welcome good news on the progress of the roll-out. 35 further areas are currently in line to be connected, as part of the second phase of broadband expansion. Matfen is the biggest outstanding village to be done and this is first in the queue, and should be up and running around September.
Specifically this phase 2 includes:
NB the location is the exchange, and then the bracketed location is the site of the improved / extended coverage:
Allendale (Catton Beacon),
Bardon Mill (next to the exchange, Westend Town, and Ridley),
 Corbridge (Dilston), Haydon Bridge (Langley), Humshaugh (Gunnerton, Wall, and Colwell),
Haltwhistle (Melkridge), Hexham (Warden, Bridge End, Oakwood, Sandhoe, and Acomb School), Newbrough (Allerwash Hall), Ponteland (600 metres south of the exchange, Medburn, South Medburn, Prestwick Park Business Centre, and Horton Grange), Slaley (Nr Slaley Hall / Park, Ordley, Wooley, and Whitley Chapel), Stamfordham (Matfen, and Hawkwell), Stocksfield (New Ridley, and Hedley on the Hill), West Allendale (Carrshield), West Woodburn (Nr the exchange, East Woodburn), and Wylam (Heddon-on-the-Wall, Horsley, North Dunslaw Holm).

Of course there is a long way to go. Improved broadband speeds won't reach every corner of the UK overnight, but the direction of travel is clear. When we came to office as a coalition in 2010, only 45 per cent of the country had access to superfast broadband. Today, we have provided superfast broadband access to 90 per cent of the UK – some additional 4 million homes and businesses.

It is great to see some of this progress here in Northumberland, and moving forward I hope to be able to provide even more encouraging updates on the areas connected. I am acutely conscious that isolated farms, hamlets and smaller communities are still struggling in certain places. If you are one of those then please get in contact and I will see what I can do. There will be a phase 3 and the technology is improving all the time. But the cost of provision to truly outlying areas is also very significant, and there is not an unlimited taxpayers sum of money to pay for this upgrade to technology. The present limit is effectively £1700 per household of taxpayer subsidy but this is being reviewed.

Westminster this coming week

Prudhoe High School is being rebuilt in March, but there remains an issue with the scope of the on going sports provision. I am working with the Prudhoe Community High School, and the various funding bodies, to get a speedy resolution on this and hope to have a round table in Westminster this coming week to help resolve this. There is also education questions on Monday at 2.30, followed by a confirming debate on the Women Bishops legislation. Wednesday we have further counter terrorism legislation being debated in the Commons, and I will be helping guide this through the Commons.

I have meetings or appointments this week in London with constituents, the Clinical Commissioning Group, Smart Energy, and with the association of Air Ambulances, amongst others, along with plenty of Home Office work and Women2Win. I am also trying to get a resolution to the Matfen broadband problem, which several locals, including the local councillor, Veronica Jones, have contacted to me about.  It is great news that Stamfordham, Great Whittington, and other local areas north of the Military Road, now have proper broadband but Matfen is lagging behind and we are trying to sort it. I am sat at my desk in the Commons prepping for the week ahead, which is chock a block with meetings in particular. Not looking forward to the cycle back to west London on the coldest night of the year!

Raising rural broadband / mobile coverage in Northumberland in parliament tomorrow at 9.30

I have Question 6 at 9.30 in the House of Commons on what more we can do to speed up broadband and mobile phone coverage to rural and other parts of Northumberland. I will be pressing the Broadband Minister, and the phone / broadband providers, and NCC to improve the service. I am acutely conscious that there are still several Not Spots and Go Slow areas.  

The Bellingham Deanery Synod - MPs and Church leaders see the same problems

On Thursday I spent the day cris-crossing the Upper North Tyne, in one of the most fascinating and rewarding days I have spent for a while. I visited businesses like the Northumberland Shepherd Hut and Falconry Days, spent time with Parish Councillors, knocked on doors in West Woodburn and Bellingham, delivered Energy Booklets, enjoyed Evensong in Bellingham, and attended Bellingham Middle School for a 30 minute Q&A with the senior children, and had a good, albeit quick, chat with the Headteacher. I loved being back, as I used to live just outside Wark for many years, and was a resident there at the 2010 election. I know the Upper North Tyne well.

It culminated with the Bellingham Deanery Synod inviting me to a Question and Asnwer session in Otterburn Village Hall. I was there to address 3 key themes - youth employment, housing and connectivity in all its forms - from broadband to rural transport. However, over 1 and a half hours we discussed everything from Schools to business rates, our collective dislike of Ofsted's high handed approach, the rise in apprenticeships, the demographic problem, the movement of people around Tynedale, the way in which local communities can, sometimes, be judged by their youth football teams, the usage of local tradesmen, for big local projects, and pretty much all of the issues that affect a rural area like the Bellingham Deanery. I was struck driving home after a long day by how similar the roles of the Vicar and the MP are:
- Both are there to provide assistance.
- Both would prefer if we were "supporters", even in the broadest term- but both the Church and MPs are rightly obliged to provide assistance to one and all, without fear or favour. I confess to enjoying the look of surprise when I help someone who I know detests the political views I am purported to hold [even though I am a very different politician to what many people imagine I am]. I often tell the tale of the BNP supporter who was exceptionally nasty to me during the 2010 campaign, but who we helped 9 months later with a particularly difficult local problem.

- Both struggle to provide local solutions to local problems, and both can make a huge difference.

The starkest difference is that I can be dismissed by the voters from this job. But for my part I like that - if I am doing a really bad job I should be dismissed. There is no such thing as a right to a job for life in my profession certainly.

I was, however, really encouraged by the effort being made by the Church in the Bellingham Deanery to address the issues we all face. Mike Slade is, I know, doing wonderful work in Chollerton, and his ideas for Youth Advocacy and outreach were fascinating. However, possibly the highlight of the day was the realisation that Susan, the Bellingham Vicar, was going to try and get an apprentice.

I tried to convey my optimism for the years ahead for rural Tynedale:
- broadband is the key to so much: as we already live in the best place how good it would be if we were able to work from home or in a barn or local business unit in exactly the same way that we can in Newcastle or any other town?
In short, as the broadband extends I believe we shall see local communities reborn with entrepreneurs setting up businesses at home. I am already seeing this in Hexham, where businesses like PDL and Red Marine are providing state of the art computer based engineering, from small little offices in Hexham - something which would have been unheard of 5 or 10 years ago.
The broadband point was also echoed by the Bellingham Middle School children.

- housing and jobs: we discussed local plans for housing, but not in the detail I would have liked, but there was a lot to cover. I remain convinced that the Local Plans will address the housing needs. We did not get into the National Park problem of the lack of affordable housing, or ability to convert, but rural housing is a genuine and real problem. We discussed the lack of apprenticeships or opportunities in forestry and agriculture, but I made the point that these were not where the future rural jobs were going to be coming. In all probability, the future jobs would be home based start ups or jobs with the growing businesses of Tynedale - I gave the example of the 40+ new engineers at Egger in their new Academy. 

Thursday was a long  but fascinating day - I can only thank the Deanery Synod for inviting me and providing a brilliant discussion forum that even featured delicious cake! 

Hedley Village phone and internet meeting with BT

The village of Hedley is idyllic, has one of the finest gastropubs in the country, and is full of people of character and resourcefullness. Yet they continue to be denied any proper phone and internet connection - something that has been going on for years. I had a fairly stormy meeting with BT yesterday after their key representative came to the House of Commons.
The village’s situation is unacceptable and dangerous, especially in cases of emergency. I have met with locals, eaten in the pub, and spoken to the Parish Council representatives. We have also surveyed the village. They have provided a litany of dozens of complaints, with broadband being almost non-existent, and constant disruptions to phone lines. All of these have been given to BT.
BT Openreach needs to invest in upgrading the old telephone cables, something that I know their own engineers want to see.

The Journal today gave a full report of the story: http://www.thejournal.co.uk/news/north-east-news/hexham-mp-demands-action-villages-6326045

The Journal wrote: "One of those complainants is Helen Greer, who runs the village’s award-winning gastropub The Feathers Inn, recently named among the top 20 in the UK.
She says poor connection has had a huge negative impact on her business.
“Our business relies on us taking reservations over the phone,” she said. “But we often can’t take bookings because we can’t hear people. Our broadband connection is slower than dial-up so relying on internet bookings is no better. Earlier this year we had no phone connection for up to six weeks, which was unbelievable. We have people from far and wide wanting to visit us as we’ve won many awards for the quality of our food, but what’s the point if they can’t get in touch?

“There’s a BT Openreach van in the village every week patching up a problem somewhere but it would be money better invested if they just replaced the old telephone cables.
I’m hugely grateful to Guy Opperman for tackling this problem head-on and taking it to the House of Commons. I just hope he can help us get this finally sorted."

For my part, I will update as the campaign continues, but I did ask their representative, why anyone would stay with BT given its woeful service, in the absence of improvements. In the meantime I cannot recommend the Feathers Inn more highly.

Owen Patterson in Northumberland today

Pleased to have DEFRA minister meeting farmers and discussing broadband at 3.30 this afternoon. He will also be going to Northumberlandia in the morning and then meeting several of the Tranwell wind farm campaigners at a lunch in Blagdon