Longridge homes and businesses to get new fibre broadband

Faster broadband is coming to thousands of homes and businesses in the Longridge area of Lancashire thanks to a new project being carried out by BT.

Longridge is a civil parish in the Ribble Valley situated close to the city of Preston and local councillors were keen to make better broadband infrastructure available to its many rural residents.

Lancashire County Council and BT joined forces to implement Superfast Lancashire, which is now coming to fruition, the Longridge News reports.

Some 3,500 premises are to get fibre optic broadband as part of BT's commercial rollout, while a further 380 will get it through Superfast Lancashire funding.

The first areas to benefit will be around Whittingham Road in Longridge, followed by Hurst Green, Great Eccleston and Carnforth.

Before the end of the year, download speeds of up to 80Mbps will be possible for locals.

County Councillor Jennifer Mein said: "By the end of 2015, 97 per cent of the county will have access to superfast broadband, putting Lancashire in the vanguard of the digital revolution."

With Ribble Valley Borough Councillors recently asked to increase the number of housing sites available to be built on by 2028 to 5,000, this improvement to broadband is likely to be widely welcomed.