£24m broadband project to roll out across Shropshire

Shropshire Council and BT have confirmed the names of the latest communities in line to benefit from faster internet speeds as fibre broadband is set to be installed in their areas.

Bayston Hill, Bomere Heath, Bucknell, Church Stretton, Craven Arms, Cross Houses, Dorrington, Hadnall, Hanwood, Much Wenlock and Shawbury have been chosen for the rollout with the high-speed technology going "live" as soon as this summer.

Also in line for the faster internet connections are Broseley, Chirk, Cleehillstone, Cleobury Mortimer, Clun, Highley, Pipegate, Prees, Quatt, Queens Head, Shifnal, Tenbury Wells, Wem, Whixall.

Work on the project should start in the autumn with the high speeds delievered by the end of spring 2015.

Once complete more than 30,000 homes across Shropshire will have access to fibre broadband with 93 per cent of properties in the area being able to obtain the faster speeds.

Fibre broadband will also be extended in the parts of Bridgnorth, Ludlow, Market Drayton and Oswestry.

Steve Charmley, Shropshire Council Cabinet member responsible for broadband, said: "It's great to be able to confirm areas that will benefit from fast broadband as part of the next phase of the programme.

"This is a long-term project but it's great to be able to get this news out there now to give people something to look forward to. I hope they will be pleased with the end result.

"As well as benefiting residents the faster connection speeds will be a big boost to businesses because it opens a lot of doors."

He added: "It makes it a lot easier to connect with people across the world, there really are a lot of benefits for businesses that aren't initially obvious."

In December Montford Bridge became the first rural community to "go live" as part of the Connecting Shropshire project.

Bicton and Harlescott have also been connected up, with Albrighton, Ford, Minsterley and Pontesbury due to follow before the end of March.

Residents and businesses in these locations will be able to enjoy broadband download speeds of up to 80 megabits per second and uploads of up to 20 Mbps.

Mike Cook, BT's regional director for the West Midlands, said: "The internet is playing an increasingly important part in all our lives which is why the strong progress being made by Connecting Shropshire is so important."