CHRISTMAS has come early for people living and working in one Teesdale village after their MP ‘switched on’ their new broadband cabinet.

Romaldkirk villagers have been among thousands of people living in rural areas struggling with poor internet connections and signal for several years.

But Durham County Council are hoping that will now change after setting up the Digital Durham programme with BT – a £25 million initiative to transform broadband speeds across County Durham, Gateshead, Sunderland and Tees Valley.

Helen Goodman, MP for Bishop Auckland, joined members of the Digital Durham team and BT, to officially ‘switch on’ the new fibre cabinet, which is bringing faster broadband to more than 100 homes and businesses.

It means that across Teesdale, high-speed, fibre broadband is now available to more than 5,000 households and businesses in locations such as Cockfield, Middleton in Teesdale, Copley, Staindrop, Cotherstone, Bowes, West Auckland, Barnard Castle and Barningham.

A further 1,070 households and businesses are set to benefit by the end of the first phase of the roll-out which will be completed in June next year.

The second phase, which is currently in planning, will also aim to provide access to fibre broadband for more communities.

Mrs Goodman said: “Having campaigned to improve access to broadband in rural areas I’m delighted to welcome the arrival of superfast broadband in Romaldkirk and the wider investment across Teesdale.

“It is increasingly vital that our rural businesses, residents and tourists benefit from access to superfast speeds and I look forward to further good news for the area.”

Cllr Jane Brown, Durham County Council’s Cabinet member for corporate services, added: “This is excellent news, just in time for Christmas, for residents and businesses in Romaldkirk who will now be able to take advantage of the many benefits of fibre broadband.

“It is especially important for people in rural areas of the county like this to have fast and easy access to online resources, such as jobs and educational tools, and for local companies to be able to compete on a level playing field.”

More than 90,000 households and businesses are now able to connect to faster, fibre broadband thanks to the Digital Durham programme.

For more information about the Digital Durham programme please visit digitaldurham.org