Durham County Council is planning to bid for additional funding to help provide next generation broadband to homes and businesses in the region.

The local authority already has put £2 million aside to spend on increasing access, but wants to get a share of the government's £530 million broadband investment fund to increase the size of its planned roll-out.

Members of the council's cabinet will be asked to approve a funding bid when they meet on March 9th.

Councillor Neil Foster, Durham County Council's cabinet member for regeneration and economic development, said: "Broadband has become an essential requirement for modern living and is key to enabling a modern economy."

He added 60 per cent of homes in County Durham are not able to access high-speed internet connections at the moment.

Kent County Council is another local authority concerned about this issue and recently announced it is to establish a £1.5 million Superfast Broadband Pilot Fund.
 

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