Update: 15th Septemer 2017
Champion Training for House Equipment, 6th September
We are holding a training session for New Hutton Champions on Wednesday 6th September to help them install the Property Equipment in accordance with B4RN's requirements. The start time of the meeting has still to be confirmed by B4RN. This training has previously been provided for Old Hutton and Preston Patrick Champions but they can attend this session if they missed the last one.
Please let Martyn know if you are planning to attend because spaces are limited (martynwelch@hotmail.com).
Please note that this meeting is for local champions, not for everyone.
There are some groups of houses which do not yet have a champion. If you would like to be the champion for your community, please inform Martyn and come to the meeting.
The broadband project is now at the stage where we advise all local champions to liaise with their community to identify where the routers should be in the houses, the routes to them from the local chamber and to make plans for how to lay the service ducts. Please keep Martyn informed about your progress.
Please let Martyn know if you are planning to attend because spaces are limited (martynwelch@hotmail.com).
Please note that this meeting is for local champions, not for everyone.
There are some groups of houses which do not yet have a champion. If you would like to be the champion for your community, please inform Martyn and come to the meeting.
The broadband project is now at the stage where we advise all local champions to liaise with their community to identify where the routers should be in the houses, the routes to them from the local chamber and to make plans for how to lay the service ducts. Please keep Martyn informed about your progress.
Update: 15th August 2017
Update: 15th July 2017
Update: 15th June 2017
Update: 15th May 2017
Update: 15th April 2017
Update: 15th March 2017
Update: 15th February 2017
Update: 15th January 2017
Update: 15th December 2016
Update: 15th November 2016
Update: 15th October 2016
Update: 15th September 2016
Update: 15th August 2016
Update: 15th July 2016
Update: 15th June 2016
Update: 15th May 2016
Update: 15th April 2016
Update: 15th March 2016
A public meeting was held at Preston Patrick Memorial Hall on 9th March and 55 people attended. Martyn Welch, our B4SW project manager, gave a wide-ranging talk on the progress of the project. His power point presentation and the question and answer discussion at the end can be seen on the website www.b4sw.org.uk; there is not sufficient space in this update to describe the evening in detail. He summarised the nature of B4RN and the formation of the B4SW steering group. The group has been working for only six months but has achieved a great deal. Its success depends on three main factors: volunteers willing to do much when the digging and detailed route planning in hamlets are started; investors willing to provide the cash through buying B4RN shares and lending money as the whole project is financed locally; and landowners willing to provide free wayleaves.
To date, we have received 264 expressions of interest to connect to the network when it is built. This is 54.9% of the estimated 481 homes and business properties in the parishes. Considering a spade has not been put into the ground yet and the average take-up rate in the 40+ B4RN parishes is 65% after completion of their networks, our figure is very pleasing. New expressions of interest in connecting arrive on most days.
During the past four weeks, more landowners have been visited. There are about 83 of which 61 have been visited and 56 have agreed in principle to grant wayleaves. Five have preferred not to, so routes have been diverted around their land. We hope to finish these visits in the next month.
With the whole route now becoming firmer, a more detailed cost estimate has been made. We will have about 38Km of trunk (£190,000), 30Km of spurs and services (£90,000) and two electronics cabinets (£20,000). This is a total of £300,000. It has been estimated that a second cabinet to be placed at Old Hutton in addition to the one planned for New Hutton, will result in significant savings in the costs of the trunk line, and instead of the whole network being a rough ellipse, it will be a figure eight.
The raising of finance for the project is encouraging. So far, 85 investors have bought shares and made loans amounting to £189,100 and 42 more investors have still to be visited to discuss conversion of pledges to actual investments. SLDC has granted New Hutton Parish Council £16,667 for the purchase of the cabinet to be placed at New Hutton. The Armistead Community Fund Committee has still to meet to discuss our applications for grants. In total it has been estimated that the project still needs at least £40,000 so further offers of investments are most welcome. The total does not need to be raised before digging starts but the sooner we raise the finance the faster the work is likely to be done. We hope that digging will start in May but we must finalise the exact route before that can happen so the next steps are to continue to visit landowners and to walk the whole route to plan it in detail.
To date, we have received 264 expressions of interest to connect to the network when it is built. This is 54.9% of the estimated 481 homes and business properties in the parishes. Considering a spade has not been put into the ground yet and the average take-up rate in the 40+ B4RN parishes is 65% after completion of their networks, our figure is very pleasing. New expressions of interest in connecting arrive on most days.
During the past four weeks, more landowners have been visited. There are about 83 of which 61 have been visited and 56 have agreed in principle to grant wayleaves. Five have preferred not to, so routes have been diverted around their land. We hope to finish these visits in the next month.
With the whole route now becoming firmer, a more detailed cost estimate has been made. We will have about 38Km of trunk (£190,000), 30Km of spurs and services (£90,000) and two electronics cabinets (£20,000). This is a total of £300,000. It has been estimated that a second cabinet to be placed at Old Hutton in addition to the one planned for New Hutton, will result in significant savings in the costs of the trunk line, and instead of the whole network being a rough ellipse, it will be a figure eight.
The raising of finance for the project is encouraging. So far, 85 investors have bought shares and made loans amounting to £189,100 and 42 more investors have still to be visited to discuss conversion of pledges to actual investments. SLDC has granted New Hutton Parish Council £16,667 for the purchase of the cabinet to be placed at New Hutton. The Armistead Community Fund Committee has still to meet to discuss our applications for grants. In total it has been estimated that the project still needs at least £40,000 so further offers of investments are most welcome. The total does not need to be raised before digging starts but the sooner we raise the finance the faster the work is likely to be done. We hope that digging will start in May but we must finalise the exact route before that can happen so the next steps are to continue to visit landowners and to walk the whole route to plan it in detail.
Update: 15th February 2016
During the last four weeks we have made steady progress visiting potential investors to ask them to convert pledges to firm purchases of shares in B4RN and to make loans. So far, over £103,000 has been raised from 39% of the potential investors. We aim to complete this task by the end of February. If you wish to invest but have not yet done so, please contact us using the details below. Applications for grants have been submitted to the Armistead Wind Farm Fund and the SLDC Local Improvement Projects Fund but it will be some time before we hear the results.
We have started to visit landowners and are about 35% through the list at the time of writing. These visits involve discussing wayleaves and draft routes on maps and will be followed in a few weeks by walking the routes to determine their exact location and avoid obstacles such as shallow drains and utilities. Landowners have been most helpful and welcoming, and we are pleased to note a real sense of us all working for the benefit of the community whenever the broadband project is discussed.
A new development is that we have begun to approach contractors for quotations for laying the duct. We have an enormous amount of work to do. The trunk line alone is 35Km long and from that run spurs whose total length is unknown at this stage. Several contractors will be needed as most landowners want to use them. When laying the network we will need lots of voluntary help with work such as digging the duct underneath walls and hedges.
We continue to receive expressions of interest in connecting to the network. We have now passed the halfway mark with 245 or 51% of all homes and businesses in the three parishes having registered. More registrations and pledges of investment will be welcomed.
There will be a public meeting at 7.30pm on Wednesday 9th March at Preston Patrick Memorial Hall to describe progress in our project, to outline future steps, to answer any queries and to discuss any concerns. Everyone is warmly invited to attend.
Arthur Robinson, Secretary of B4SW, 01539 725955, b4southwestmorland@gmail.com
Martyn Welch, Project Manager & New Hutton, 01539 724836, martyn.welch@b4sw.org.uk
John Heap, Old Hutton & Holmescales, 01539 738759, john.heap@b4sw.org.uk
Peter Winter, Preston Patrick, 015395 67383, peter.winter@b4sw.org.uk
We have started to visit landowners and are about 35% through the list at the time of writing. These visits involve discussing wayleaves and draft routes on maps and will be followed in a few weeks by walking the routes to determine their exact location and avoid obstacles such as shallow drains and utilities. Landowners have been most helpful and welcoming, and we are pleased to note a real sense of us all working for the benefit of the community whenever the broadband project is discussed.
A new development is that we have begun to approach contractors for quotations for laying the duct. We have an enormous amount of work to do. The trunk line alone is 35Km long and from that run spurs whose total length is unknown at this stage. Several contractors will be needed as most landowners want to use them. When laying the network we will need lots of voluntary help with work such as digging the duct underneath walls and hedges.
We continue to receive expressions of interest in connecting to the network. We have now passed the halfway mark with 245 or 51% of all homes and businesses in the three parishes having registered. More registrations and pledges of investment will be welcomed.
There will be a public meeting at 7.30pm on Wednesday 9th March at Preston Patrick Memorial Hall to describe progress in our project, to outline future steps, to answer any queries and to discuss any concerns. Everyone is warmly invited to attend.
Arthur Robinson, Secretary of B4SW, 01539 725955, b4southwestmorland@gmail.com
Martyn Welch, Project Manager & New Hutton, 01539 724836, martyn.welch@b4sw.org.uk
John Heap, Old Hutton & Holmescales, 01539 738759, john.heap@b4sw.org.uk
Peter Winter, Preston Patrick, 015395 67383, peter.winter@b4sw.org.uk
Update: 17th January 2016
Since our last update we have continued to make excellent progress. During the month the Broadband for South Westmorland Steering Group has been visiting those who expressed an interest in buying shares in B4RN and making loans in order to finance the project. Without their generosity, the project could not go ahead. The total sum pledged has been in the region of £230,000. At the time of writing, £51,000 has been committed from a quarter of the investors in shares and loans. We will be able to give you a more accurate picture in next month’s update when almost all the investments should be known. If we cannot raise the sum we need initially (which is still not known accurately) the project will simply take longer than otherwise. Meanwhile, if you think you might invest but did not put it on your expression of interest, please contact us via the website or the phone number below.
A detailed draft route for the network has been prepared and we are waiting for B4RN’s review of it. This is expected in the next few days after which we will start to visit each landowner to seek their comments and ask for their permission for wayleave. Visiting them is a major task which might take several weeks.
When the route has been confirmed we will ask volunteers in each hamlet to consult the members of their community to decide the exact routes for cables across gardens and into homes. There are about 60 of such communities so this also will be time-consuming. However, this task need not be completed before we start digging the main route in late February (we hope).
Applications have been written for grants to the Armistead Wind Farm Community Fund and to the SLDC Local Improvement Project Fund. The forms will be submitted before the end of January but it is likely to be some time before we hear the results.
A detailed draft route for the network has been prepared and we are waiting for B4RN’s review of it. This is expected in the next few days after which we will start to visit each landowner to seek their comments and ask for their permission for wayleave. Visiting them is a major task which might take several weeks.
When the route has been confirmed we will ask volunteers in each hamlet to consult the members of their community to decide the exact routes for cables across gardens and into homes. There are about 60 of such communities so this also will be time-consuming. However, this task need not be completed before we start digging the main route in late February (we hope).
Applications have been written for grants to the Armistead Wind Farm Community Fund and to the SLDC Local Improvement Project Fund. The forms will be submitted before the end of January but it is likely to be some time before we hear the results.
Update: 22nd December 2015
Expressions of interest in connecting to the broadband network have continued to be sent in. 231 (45.7% of the total in the three parishes) have been submitted at the time of writing which includes 51.1% of homes and businesses in Old Hutton and Holmescales.
The total investment pledged through buying shares and lending to B4RN is now in the region of £230,000. We still do not know whether this will be enough. The next step in the project is to visit investors to deliver application forms for buying shares and to give information about how to lend. If you said that you are willing to invest, someone from the B4SW steering committee will contact you shortly (if they have not already done so) to arrange an appointment. The visit will probably last no more than 15 minutes during which the visitor will help to guide you through the application form and will answer any questions that might arise. It must be noted, however, that members of B4SW are not allowed to give financial advice under the strict laws covering this area and we have to ask investors to confirm that no advice has been given.
We are waiting for the first draft route of the network to be sent to us by B4RN. Following its receipt we will talk to landowners about whether they are happy to grant wayleaves and to seek their advice on the exact route.
Arthur Robinson, Secretary of B4SW
The total investment pledged through buying shares and lending to B4RN is now in the region of £230,000. We still do not know whether this will be enough. The next step in the project is to visit investors to deliver application forms for buying shares and to give information about how to lend. If you said that you are willing to invest, someone from the B4SW steering committee will contact you shortly (if they have not already done so) to arrange an appointment. The visit will probably last no more than 15 minutes during which the visitor will help to guide you through the application form and will answer any questions that might arise. It must be noted, however, that members of B4SW are not allowed to give financial advice under the strict laws covering this area and we have to ask investors to confirm that no advice has been given.
We are waiting for the first draft route of the network to be sent to us by B4RN. Following its receipt we will talk to landowners about whether they are happy to grant wayleaves and to seek their advice on the exact route.
Arthur Robinson, Secretary of B4SW
Broadband for South Westmorland (B4SW)
Broadband for South Westmorland is a group formed by the parish councils of New Hutton, Old Hutton & Holmescales and Preston Patrick to extend the B4RN optical fibre hyperfast broadband network to every house which wants it in the parishes. A brief information leaflet has been delivered to all houses.
