We have heard from Freedom Fibre that there are to be reductions in the scope of their contract for our area. Helen Morgan MP has also been advised of this and has written the following for constituents:

"It was announced this week that Freedom Fibre’s contract to deliver high-speed broadband across North Shropshire is being cancelled. The company will only be connecting around 3,500 premises despite being commissioned under Project Gigabit to deliver fibre broadband to 12,000 premises. This is because the company has struggled to source capital and has recently laid off a large proportion of its workforce.

This is extremely disappointing news and I have made my displeasure clear to both Freedom Fibre and Building Digital UK, the Government department responsible for delivering Project Gigabit contracts.

Given the failure of this contract, I have serious concerns about the procurement process that I will be raising with Ministers.

In the meantime it is crucial that a replacement provider is found for North Shropshire as soon as possible and that clear information is provided to people waiting for gigabit broadband to be provided at their home or business.

While Freedom Fibre’s government contract will finish in the next few days, new connections will continue to become available over the coming weeks. I have requested the details of where these connections will be but I have not yet been provided them.

Therefore in the first instance, if you are unclear whether Freedom Fibre will be providing gigabit broadband in your area you are advised to regularly check the availability section of Freedom Fibre’s website here.

By the end of July we will have final confirmation of where Freedom Fibre has and has not provided a connection.

The Government will then begin negotiating with a new provider about which homes will be included in the specification for the remainder of the contract. These will be hard-to-reach premises where commercial providers have no plans to install a connection but they may not be exactly the same premises as were included in Freedom Fibre’s contract.

I would encourage anyone keen for their property to be included in this contract to contact BDUK directly at bduk-enquiries@dcms.gov.uk.

There is a high likelihood that the new provider will be Openreach, which is already delivering Project Gigabit contracts in various parts of the UK, but this will be confirmed in the coming months.

If Freedom Fibre has built infrastructure in your area which has not been completed, this will either be sold, rented or removed. Depending on any negotiations with new providers it is likely to be sold or rented, however, I would recommend asking Freedom Fibre directly regarding specific areas.

This news is extremely frustrating and means the rollout of high-speed broadband across North Shropshire will be delayed by at least several months. However, I will be doing all that I can to fast-track the process and ensure that a reliable contractor is found as soon as possible.

As always, if there is anything that I might be able to help you with then please let me know.

Best wishes,

Helen"

The Parish Council is also liaising with Shropshire Council in light of this disappointing news and will keep parishioners updated with any news

The Parish Council is required to submit and publish information concerning the annual accounts and governance (how the council operates). this is now on the website under financial information. Members of the public may view the unaudited accounts information between 1st July and 11th August, by contacting the parish clerk.