CUMBRIA County Council have approved the use of 'gainshare' funding to support delivery of the Council’s Digital Infrastructure Strategy.

At a meeting of Cumbria County Council’s Full Council on 10 February, members have approved the funds received from the Connecting Cumbria programme.

This will see £3.8m of funding for further investment into digital infrastructure projects in Cumbria.

Fast and reliable access to broadband, whether at home, work or on the go, is increasingly critical for all residents and businesses in Cumbria. The Coronavirus pandemic has shown how vital access to broadband is for learning, working, and staying connected, underlining the importance of digital connectivity.

As we recover and restart, speedy and stable internet connections can no longer be considered a luxury; it is now a basic necessity.

Connecting Cumbria, the County Council’s digital infrastructure programme, has played a leading role in bringing high-speed broadband to as many residents and businesses in the county as possible. Through contracts between the County Council and British Telecom, from 2012 to 2020, Cumbria County Council has successfully delivered superfast broadband connections to more than 122,000 premises in areas that simply would not have been reached by commercial deployment programmes. Through a combination of commercial deployment and Connecting Cumbria, superfast broadband of at least 30Mbps is currently available to more than 94% of properties in the county.

The contracts with British Telecom contain what is known as a ‘gainshare’ provision that allows for funding to be returned to the Council if take up of services exceeds the level forecast. Over the first seven years after completion of deployment a proportion of funding is returned to the Council for further investment relative to the number of customers who took up services on the infrastructure deployed through the contract. Those that take up services in areas where delivery has been completed get the benefit of improved digital services while creating funding which supports further investment.

The gainshare funding will see £2m invested to create a Cumbria Gigabit Broadband Voucher Top Up scheme to further support communities trying to develop their own community digital projects which will help improve connectivity for the hardest to reach areas of the county. The UK Government’s Gigabit Broadband Vouchers Scheme (GBVS) currently provides up to £3,500 funding for eligible businesses and up to £1,500 for eligible residential properties to install gigabit-capable connections.

The £2 million made available will be used to match the level of funding available under the GBVS, so that eligible businesses will be able to apply for up to a maximum of £7,000 and eligible residential properties up to £3,000.

Around £1m will be allocated to develop a Digital Village Hub scheme to deliver community hub connections in areas with sub-30Mbps service. This scheme, in combination with the top up scheme, would support the development of community network projects in deeply rural areas.

A further £100k will be used to support 5G research and development projects and the remaining funding will be used to pay for the Connecting Cumbria team and to further progress the Digital Infrastructure Strategy.

Cllr David Southward, Cumbria County Council’s Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Digital Champion said: “Improved digital infrastructure remains a top priority given the significant economic and social benefits for Cumbria, and I am delighted with the progress we have made over the years and that through gainshare further improvements can be realised.

“From accessing the latest information and health guidance, home working, education, and learning, to online access to food and supplies, staying connected to family and others and maintaining supply chains - we all now depend on the ability to connect remotely across distance.

“Access to fast, reliable internet connectivity is no longer considered to be a luxury; it is a basic necessity. Digital connectivity is also playing a central role in the Government’s levelling-up agenda, economic growth, Covid-19 recovery and greater social inclusion to all residents and local businesses.”

Find out more on the Connecting Cumbria webpages: connectingcumbria.org.uk.