The Highland Drove Inn, Great Salkeld, was the scene of a celebration pie and pea supper to mark the completion of a major village project. Residents who signed up to a pioneering community broadband scheme were buzzing with excitement after their connections went live.
For the first time, ultrafast broadband speeds of up to 1,000 Mbps are now available across the parish thanks to the combined efforts of local volunteers and fibre network company B4RN.
The big switch-on was celebrated at the pie and pea supper, put on by pub landlords Claire and Tom Lefevre. There was not a spare seat in sight as locals sat down to good food and crack, along with a few beers and rounds of bingo.
In attendance were the trio of volunteers responsible for getting the project off the ground — Donna Webster, Jenny Turner and Nigel Patrick.
“It has taken three years to get to this point,” said Donna, who lives in a part of the village where broadband speed had been poor. “The feeling I had when we went live and the needle on the testing system went all the way round was just wonderful.”
Nigel, who runs a computer services business from his home, said: “It’s been especially good for the farms and outlying houses that were being very badly served by the old system.”
Previously, internet speeds in the area varied between five and 75 Mbps, which led to frustratingly slow upload and download speeds.
Now, however, fibre is connected directly to the homes of the many people who have signed up, speeding things up significantly and increasing reliability. “With this system people can do things they couldn’t do before,” said Nigel. Also, because B4RN is a community trust, the project has been done at a fraction of what it would have cost if completed by a big private company. Nigel said: “It’s a not for profit organisation that has done this. At £33 per month per household and £15 to people receiving council tax support, it’s a tremendous deal.”
Local residents Jen and David Allen, who attended the meal, are delighted with the new system. “It’s made a world of difference,” said David, who often works from home.
Jen added: “Buffering was a problem when streaming programmes, but that doesn’t happen now. Also our son is a gamer and this has really improved his gaming experience. All three of us can be online at the same time and it doesn’t slow things down.”
Richard Curtis, who runs a small business from North Dykes and helped install house kits for the project, said: “Our internet speeds have been the worst we have known since we moved here six years ago. Having been given the opportunity to get involved with B4RN has been great for the community and utterly transformative for the business.”
As the project entered its later stages, Donna, Jenny and Nigel had no problem recruiting volunteers like Richard. More than 20 residents helped out with the practical work of digging trenches and installing house kits.
B4RN project build co-ordinator Felicity Greenwood said: “The volunteers on this project have been truly dedicated and they’ve had a lot of support from the local community. Compared with other projects this build is being achieved in record time, taking only four-and-a-half months.”
Nigel added: “It’s amazing how many people in this parish are electrical engineers, software engineers, cyber engineers. It’s been great working alongside them to achieve this goal. We are also very grateful to the residents who kept us all going with tea and biscuits.”
However, the project has not been without its challenges. “It felt like we would never reach the end but just as you started to flag another member of the team would give you boost. We supported each other,” said Donna.
B4RN community and engagement development officer Stan Jenkins said: “Without Nigel Patrick, Jenny Turner and Donna Webster the Great Salkeld project would simply not have happened.
“Also, a big thank you to the landowners and farmers who have given us permission to use their land, and the investors who have helped make the books balance.”
Broadband projects are springing up all over Eden, including at Kirkoswald and Ravenstonedale, as communities take advantage of the Government’s Project Gigabit scheme.
