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news opinion
Two roundtable discussions last month – one staged in Reading on Investing in the Thames Valley, and one in Southampton on Supporting Business Growth – were evidence of the relevant buoyancy of our areas
In Reading, the football team may be at the bottom of the Premiership, but much else about the area is top of the league, and there is a heartening positivity among businesses that we have spoken to about prospects for 2013.
Crossrail and the smart new Reading railway station are signs that infrastructure projects coming on stream will further boost the area. There are of course companies that are struggling, but there are clear signs of growth in parts of the Thames Valley – and also indications that funding is becoming more available to support that growth.
Business Growth Fund, organisations like Isis Innovation, the new Thames Valley Business Escalator, and a Thames Valley EIS Fund, details of which will be announced to businesses this month, show that there are diverse products out there.
On the south coast, it’s an equally upbeat scene. Southampton and Portsmouth are in line for substantial investment, through the City Deals initiative. One estimate suggested that £1 billion of investment per city would generate 30,000 new jobs and help build 16,000 new homes.
The two cities are also joining forces to bid to become the 2017 City of Culture. It would be great to see the bid succeed – and it’s another recent example of how the two conurbations, once at each other’s throats, are seeing the benefits of collaboration.
David Murray Publisher
www.businessmag.co.uk Sponsorship for Clipper Race
International law firm Hill Dickinson has renewed its sponsorship as official legal partner of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, following its highly successful involvement with the eighth edition of the Clipper Race and underlining a long-standing relationship
with Clipper Ventures. The firm, which has an international network of offices and is renowned for its specialist marine knowledge, will provide legal advice and support to the Clipper Race, which at 40,000 miles is the world’s longest global ocean race.
In the June issue of The Business Magazine
• Corporate Finance • Legal Focus • Focus on Portsmouth • Technology: Data Security
Details: 0118-9766411
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THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – SOLENT & SOUTH CENTRAL – MAY 2013
£13.8m invested in superfast broadband
More than 57,000 business and residential premises in Hampshire are set to benefit from superfast broadband connections to the Internet following a £13.8 million deal with BT to provide a county- wide high-speed network.
Hampshire County Council has signed a contract with BT to build on the existing commercial footprint in the county so that at least 90% of all premises will have access to superfast broadband by the end of 2015, and supporting the council’s goal of ensuring everyone else will have access to at least 2Mbps (Megabits per second) broadband.
The county council together with district and borough partners have invested £5m in the project and were awarded the same figure from BDUK. BT is contributing an additional £3.8m towards the cost of installing the new fibre infrastructure bringing the total investment in the project to more than £13.8m.
The first communities to benefit from this project are expected to have access to the high-speed technology by the end of this year, with the programme due to be completed by the end of 2015. Without the intervention
of the Hampshire Broadband Programme around 20% of premises in Hampshire would not have been able to access fibre broadband services.
One of the first areas to see improvements will be the Solent Enterprise Zone which is being developed at Daedalus at Lee-on- the-Solent. Daedalus, the former airfield of the Royal Navy, is one of 24 enterprise zones being set up nationally to support local economic and employment growth.
Ken Thornber, county council leader, said: “This marks the culmination of many months of hard work. I am very pleased that BT can now start work on putting in the necessary infrastructure that will benefit so many businesses and households, predominantly located in the less populated and harder-to-reach areas of Hampshire.
“Access to the Internet and fast broadband is crucial to the on-going social and economic prosperity of the region. Putting in this network infrastructure is as important as other major transport infrastructures like roads, rail, and airports. This exciting development will ensure that Hampshire continues to be
a great place to live, work and thrive."
Bill Murphy, managing director, Next Generation Access, BT, added: “This project will move the county well and truly into the broadband fast lane with fibre being rolled out to more than nine out of 10 properties in the county.“
Communications minister Ed Vaizey continued: “The UK already does more business online than any other European country, and widespread access to superfast broadband will provide a tremendous boost to Hampshire’s local economy.“
Openreach, BT’s local network division, will now begin the work on surveying locations across the county. This will allow BT to refine its draft designs to roll out fibre across the county to ensure as many premises as possible can receive superfast broadband.
Alternative broadband technologies may be used alongside future fibre innovations to connect the hardest to reach premises that are scattered throughout the county. These properties currently have speeds of less than 2Mbps or no access to broadband at all.
More than 19,000 households and business have registered their support for the Hampshire Broadband Programme. Driving up demand is a crucial part of delivering a successful project.
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