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Holkham Estate calls for faster Norfolk broadband
Norfolk's Holkham Estate is aiming to attract new businesses, but is being held back by slow broadband.
Speaking to the Eastern Daily Press, owner Viscount Coke said the estate is keen to become a hub for small businesses employing local residents, but the lack of fast and reliable broadband access is standing in the way of this ambition.
The setting is home to Holkham Hall, built between 1734 and 1764 by the first Earl of Leicester Thomas Coke. The Coke family have lived at the estate since 1609.
Although more than £50,000 has been spent on new floors and roofing at the estate in a bid to lure employers to the area, the long-term viability of the site as a business park is being held back by poor-quality broadband.
Over 350 people work at the Holkham Estate during the peak summer months, making it one of the largest employers in north Norfolk.
However, the portfolio of tourism, property and retail businesses located at the historic estate often struggle to maintain communications links.
Lord Coke explained: "I have friends who have similar estates in the Thames Valley or beside the A1 and, because they are next to towns and cities like Leeds or Bradford, they have managed to turn their old buildings into offices and attract people out of those cities to work in beautiful locations in the countryside.
"We want that to happen here."
David Horton-Fawkes, director of the Holkham Estate, also acknowledged that poor access to high-speed broadband reduces the site's appeal for prospective commercial tenants.
In the estate's heyday, hundreds of people were employed in agriculture and industry, and this could be the case again if broadband connectivity is improved, he claimed.
Mr Horton-Fawkes noted businesses typically consider broadband access to be just as important as running water and electricity.