SUPERFAST broadband will be more widely available in the Huddersfield area, thanks to a £6.3million Government cash injection.
The allocation is part of £530 million investment in the UK’s broadband network, announced by Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt earlier this week.
Several rural areas of Huddersfield have had problems with broadband access.
This investment will ensure that around one million homes and business premises in West Yorkshire will have the best superfast broadband network in Europe by 2015, with 90% of homes and businesses having access to superfast broadband and for everyone in the UK to have access to at least 2Mbps.
Kirklees Council’s assistant director for change and technology Laura Rawnsley said: “This government investment will be welcomed across Kirklees where there are around 18,000 residential properties and 1,000 non-residential properties without access to basic broadband, and for businesses in areas of slow speed broadband.
“To make the most of the money we are working with partners across West Yorkshire and across the Pennines in Manchester on our broadband plan to ensure that we each learn from each other and that we maximise what this money could do for us all.
“This work is vital to ensuring Kirklees benefits from the recovery from recession, and while parts of the district have extremely good broadband access, there are parts where the connection is not so reliable which we need to address.”
Mr Hunt said: “Fast broadband is absolutely vital to our economic growth, to delivering public services effectively, and to conducting our everyday lives.
“But some areas of the UK are missing out, with many rural and hard-to-reach communities suffering painfully slow internet connections or no coverage at all. We are not prepared to let some parts of our country get left behind in the digital age.”
He said the private sector on its own will take superfast broadband to around two-thirds of UK households and businesses – this funding will be used to help take broadband to the remaining third by making it viable for business to invest. To access these investment pots, local authorities will need to play their parts to draw up an effective delivery plan, and match the Government’s investment with European, their own or private funds.
The investment has also been welcomed by County Land Association President and Yorkshire landowner William Worsley.
He said: “Rural areas are woefully underserved by even an adequate broadband service let alone superfast.
“The Government has now handed the baton to local authorities so rural residents and businesses must tell their local councils if they are suffering from poor access or no broadband at all and make sure their concerns are listened to.
“Broadband is the key to unlocking the potential of the rural economy and these areas now have the opportunity to grasp the same advantages enjoyed by their urban counterparts.”
