Rural homes and businesses in the High Peak will be among 67,000 across Derbyshire to get next-generation gigabit broadband. 

As part of government plans to level up internet access, Derbyshire County Council will support the rollout in Derbyshire, which is due to start in 2022 and will be overseen by the government’s Building Digital UK team. 

The announcement comes as the council is in the final stages of delivering its Digital Derbyshire programme – a multi-million-pound partnership with UK Government and Openreach making faster broadband available to more than 103,000 premises across the county. 

Councillor Carolyn Renwick, DCC’s Cabinet Member for Infrastructure and Environment, said the Digital Derbyshire programme has made progress delivering the county’s biggest broadband transformation to around a quarter of properties that otherwise wouldn’t have benefitted. 

‘Project Gigabit’ will build on this work with up to £110m to help upgrade properties in Derbyshire that would otherwise have been left behind by commercial providers. 

Cllr Renwick said: “I’m pleased that Derbyshire has been included in the Government’s gigabit scheme, with the county council continuing to play a key role in helping to deliver next-generation broadband.  

“This will ensure that our residents and businesses can continue to operate and engage in an ever-changing digital world.” 

Properties in Derbyshire that currently have the slowest connections will be prioritised for the upgrade and lay the foundations for the technology of tomorrow such as 8K-quality video streaming. 

It means families will no longer have to battle over bandwidth and residents in rural areas will have the freedom to live and work more flexibly and businesses will have the improved speed and reliability needed to operate effectively. 

For more information about Project Gigabit, visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/project-gigabit-delivery-plan-summer-update.

For more information about the Digital Derbyshire programme, head to www.digitalderbyshire.org.uk.

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