As residents may know, rollout of superfast broadband in our area is being overseen by the Superfast Northamptonshire project.

They have set themselves the target of at least 99 per cent of premises in the county having access to superfast broadband, and 65 per cent to ultrafast​ by March 2021.

However, there are still several communities across South Northants - including Wootton, Grange Park, Hinton-in-the-Hedges, parts of Towcester - that are unable to access superfast broadband speeds, which as we all know is absolutely vital in the 21st century to shop, work from home, and entertain ourselves. I have therefore been working with Northamptonshire County Council - which manages the Superfast Northants project - to get Openreach, Gigaclear and other commercial providers to do everything they can to accelerate their plans.

We secured State Aid clearance for further intervention to roll superfast broadband out to areas which were not in plans to be served either commercially or through the Superfast Northamptonshire project activity to date. Superfast Northants have asked suppliers to model additional coverage for these eligible areas, but plans for rollout have not yet been confirmed because the modelling is not yet complete.

Until the County Council receives this modelling, they are unable to say whether these next measures will provide a solution for specific properties, but they do expect that new project plans will be announced in the New Year.

I will continue to work with the affected communities to accelerate this rollout where possible and, as always, please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of any assistance with your broadband issues.