Next step for LEWFA Fibre Broadband

As promised, here is follow up information concerning the possible creation of a hyperfast fibre broadband network in the local area. Please tell your neighbours and forward this link to them – the more the merrier within the Lawkland, Eldroth, Wharfe, Feizor and Austwick (LEWFA) area.

1. Please come to the meeting on Saturday 18th April at Eldroth Parish Hall, 2-4pm.

Attending the meeting will be Barry Forde the CEO of B4RN – Broadband for the Rural North, an Industrial and Provident Society (co-op) which oversees these projects, and in which people invest for the community project. You can ask him directly what you want to know about how your money will be used. There will also be a couple of people who already use a B4RN network who will share their experience and answer questions.

We will keep the talking to just a part of the session with plenty of chance for you to ask questions from the floor and over tea and biscuits.

We have met with Austwick Broadband (ACBA) who have written to their members direct. They have indicated that as an organisation, they support fibre broadband as the technology of the future and are in favour of helping to set up a community group to develop it.

It is hoped that by the time of the April meeting, Clapham will have made good progress with their digging. They are holding a ceremony for the start of the digging on March 23rd to which people are invited. We could arrange for you to go over later in the process and see how they do it and talk to the horse’s mouth, as it were!

2. This really would be a community initiative with lots of hands-on things to do – including getting hands dirty or cleaning them by washing up the tea mugs! It’s not all just pouring over maps to produce a route for the fibre lines, and there needs to be a small steering group to manage the project.

There are many tasks which you could help with:

Representing your hamlet on the scheme

Planning the route for the lines

Project management

As Landowners, working with the project managers

Negotiating with Landowners

Making tea and sandwiches for trench diggers

Digging trenches

Helping put lines into trenches

Investing in the project – however small or large the amount

Sticking up posters

Telling people about the project,

Publicity and press releases

Admin and paperwork

Other things (please state)

3. SO WHAT CAN YOU OFFER TO DO?

Please email lawklandparishclerk@yahoo.co.uk as soon as you can and indicate how you can help by putting YES next to relevant task above. You won’t be held to this but it is very important to help measure the support there is for the project.

If you have any questions in the meantime please don’t hesitate to contact us. We are adding documents below to help inform you about the proposal, so keep an eye on this webpage. We suggest you start with the one called “b4rn flier for LEWFA”.

And put 18th April in your diary now!

With best wishes

Christine Watson, Chairman        Veronica Caperon, Parish Clerk    

Lawkland Parish Meeting

b4rn flier for LEWFA