Steering Group

27 March 2011 is the date for a workshop day for all Group Members to bring together all the various elements they have been working on during the month both individually and collectively.

The Steering Group meeting held on 2 March was a bit of a marathon (some managed to catch last orders!) but resulted in important issues being discussed covering:

  • Various key meetings with other local groups, BDUK and Cumbria County Council
  • Attendance at the Cybermoore open day
  • Our Constitution and future legal entity
  • Change of name to Fibre GarDen
  • Business Development Model with an excellent presentation by David Pilgrim
  • Action points for members to work on for a workshop day on 27 March

There are a number of meetings and people to see during the course of the next few weeks to ensure that Fibre GarDen secures it’s place in the pilot programme the results of which will be published in due course.

02 March 2011 is the date for the next Steering Group meeting to be held at Lyon Equipment, Dent

17 January 2011
The last meeting of the Dentdale and Garsdale Superfast Broadband Steering Group took place at Lucid Optical Service Ltd., Garsdale.

17 December 2010
Anne (thanks for the coffee) John and Tony meet up to discuss the outcomes of the Upper Eden meeting last night and agree a range of action points that include dates for the next Steering Group and a public meeting, Parish mapping and investigating legal entity alternatives - so much to do!

16 December 2010

John Colton and Tony Roberts are to attend the Upper Eden Community Plan Broadband meeting where BDUK will be making a presentation and providing some clarification on the recent press release by Cumbria County Council.

11 December 2010
Following yesterday’s meeting we agreed to look into the setting up and operation of a Community Interest Company (CIC), as well as other suitable vehicles, to formalise this initiative for Dentdale and Garsdale.  So what is a CIC? Follow this link to a FAQ document issued by the CIC Regulator.

10 December, 2010

Dentdale and Garsdale Broadband Champions meet with John Colton of Lucid Optical Services to discuss the latest developments.

29 November, 2010

The first meeting of the Dentdale and Garsdale New Generation Access Broadband Steering Group took place on Monday 29 November.  It was attended by local representatives of Dentdale and Garsdale together with Tim Farron MP who, on the 24 November, secured the extension of the North Cumbria Broadband pilot scheme to cover the whole county.

“The South Lakes MP will be working with local communities, the County Council and Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) to ensure that high-speed broadband is made available to everyone, and not just people in towns and cities. The North Cumbria scheme has seen some big successes, and securing its extension to the rest of the county is a major step to achieving this goal. However, Tim is keen to emphasise that this is no cause for complacency, and he will continue to campaign hard on this issue as well as working to ensure that all communities get the best possible deal. The work for installation and service provision is expected to go to tender in the second half of 2011, and Tim will be meeting with the relevant parties in January to decide how best to proceed.

Tim commented: “This is fantastic news - I am very pleased that my campaign to secure high-speed broadband for rural areas has been successful, and I am very much looking forward to working with the County Council, BDUK and the communities involved to ensure that the best possible deal is achieved.

I have had a large number of enquiries about rural broadband services and it is clear that many homes and businesses feel like they have been ignored in the past by Government and telecoms companies. That this is all about to change is exactly what the rural areas of this country need”