Minutes
WILDMORE PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of Wildmore Parish Council Meeting held on Monday 7th February 2022 at 7.30pm in New York Lecture Hall
Present: Chairman Cllr A Everard
Cllr J Lawes Cllr M Jones
Cllr A Harrison Cllr R Kirk
Cllr M Jones
Clerk: Mrs A Appleyard
Thornton Le Fen Parish Council Cllr G Fordham Cllr J Daff
Member of the Public Mr P Dennis Mrs K Roberts
1356. Welcome by Chairman
Cllr Everard welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked them for attending. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the possibility of Community Fibre Broadband within Wildmore and Thornton Le Fen.
1357. To receive and approve apologies for absence
Apologies had been received from Cllr Bargh who was unable to attend due to another meeting.
1358. Dispensations to be Considered
Dispensations were approved for the Councillors present, thus enabling them to take part in any discussions and decisions, Cllr Harrison and Cllr Jones.
1359. To discuss and agree the way forward for potential Community Broadband scheme in parts of Wildmore Parish and potential joint work with Thornton Le Fen Parish Council
Standing Orders Suspended
Mr Dennis had contacted the clerks for both Thornton Le Fen and Wildmore. He had been in touch with Openreach as he was frustrated with the speed of the broadband in Thornton Le Fen. Internet speeds through the phone line are poor and mobile connection was reasonable but has now tailed off and become quite weak. He has been advised that the only way to get Fibre Broadband in Thornton Le Fen is through the Community Scheme. He has made enquiries in the area to see if there is any interest in people joining the scheme and has between 20 and 30 interested parties. A list had been received from Openreach of properties that could receive the scheme. There were ninety-nine properties covering both Wildmore and Thornton Le Fen. Vouchers need to be applied for and these are to the value of £850 per house and £3500 per business. Mr Dennis had been
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quoted in the region of £85,000 for the scheme to go ahead and this would mean that there would have to be a 100% take up to cover the costs.
Mr Dennis had been prepared to organise the scheme if it had been for just the 20-30 properties but not for the ninety-nine on the list. There are sixty-one in Wildmore and thirty-eight in Thornton Le Fen.
Mrs Kathy Robert, Clerk for Langriville, had been invited to the meeting. She had previously been to Wildmore’s last meeting to tell them about her experience in organising the Community Scheme in Langrick. She had come along again to this meeting so that everyone could hear about the issues and problems she had met along the way whilst organising the scheme.
There were ninety-one properties on her list, only forty-four of these signed up to receive the fibre, the rest of the properties weren’t interested. It took her three and a half years to get people receiving fibre and, in this time, she dealt with five different managers, each quoting different costs for the project. Those interested had to apply for the vouchers, which aren’t transferable. This itself caused problems with people moving, dying, etc. New property owners had to reapply for vouchers. Of those who signed up forty-two now have fibre to their property and are really pleased with it. Langrick, unfortunately, currently have a shortfall of £20,695.00. At the start of the project the Clerk and Chairman of the Council had to sign to say they would accept any shortfall. They are currently trying to see if LCC will help them with the deficit. Once people have got the fibre connected to their house, they are free to choose which provider they want to go with but must sign up for a minimum of one year with a minimum speed of 30Mbps. People buy various packages with different speeds, some 30, some 500 and some with the full 1gig. It is entirely up to the individual how much they want to spend on their package per month.
Mrs Roberts did advise that she had worked a considerable number of hours, sometimes at least five per week over the three and a half years and if someone took on the project, they would need to be prepared to have the time to do this.
Apparently, BT Openreach are not currently taking on any new projects but there are other companies out there who are. A couple of examples are Quickline or Quantum.
After much discussion between Councillors, it was proposed that both Councils work together to see if there is enough interest in both Parishes to progress the scheme. It was felt that a Public Meeting would be a good idea with a direct invite to all of those on the list via a flyer through their doors. It would also be beneficial to knock on people’s doors to gauge their response. It was agreed that to start with the initial work of identifying interested parties would be done voluntarily by Councillors from both Councils. Door knocking would take place in April when the weather is hopefully better, and people will be more inclined to stand on the doorstep to chat. The Parish Council Chairmen will liaise with each other regarding producing the flyers and a next meeting date.
Signed: Date:
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