MP celebrates ‘big win’ as Northleigh finally gets online
Local MP Richard Foord has welcomed the news that the village of Northleigh has finally seen fully fibre broadband rolled out to residents, after a strong campaign that he and the local community championed.
Northleigh, a small community near Honiton, had been left without full broadband connectivity for almost a decade. During this time, they have endured endless delays and been repeatedly let down by the Government.
In 2020, residents were able to get broadband installer OpenReach to connect 30 of the 120 local homes through a community fibre scheme. However, subsequent installation work stalled – leaving three quarters of the village cut off.
After years of battling with Connecting Devon and Somerset – run jointly by Devon County Council and Somerset Council – and the Government’s ‘Project Gigabit’ programme, they were promised full fibre rollout by the end of 2023.
Yet this work was once again faced further delays. By mid-March it remained uncompleted and even the Daily Express visited the village to report on the almost decade-long battle for broadband rollout.
After another big push by the Parish Council and Liberal Democrat MP Richard Foord, who represents the community, the work has now finally been completed – several years after it was initially promised.
Mr Foord has been a vocal supporter of the push to get the work completed. He raised the issue several times in Parliament and directly lobbied both the Secretary of State and OpenReach to speed up the rollout and get residents back online.
He says the news of the work finally being completed is a ‘big win’ for rural Devon and showed what can happen “when local people have an MP who champions them”.
Richard Foord MP said:
“Northleigh has endured years of unacceptable delays and neglect from both the Government and OpenReach. It should not take almost 10 years to get broadband installed for cut off communities.
“The news that the rollout has finally been completed is a big win for rural Devon and a huge testament to the persistence of residents, who refused to roll over in their campaigning.
“But despite this hard-fought win, there is still so much more to do. Many small villages remain cut off and left behind in parts of rural Devon like ours – that’s why I’ll continue to fight to ensure everyone can get a proper broadband connection, no matter where they live.
“The success in Northleigh shows what can happen when local people have an MP who champions them and makes their voices heard in the corridors of power. This is what I’ve sought to do every day since I was elected, and I plan to continue doing just that for people across Mid and East Devon."