End to Kings Reach internet woes is here

Hundreds of people across town were unable to access the internet last night

Kings Reach in Biggleswade has been plagued with low internet speeds since 2010.

Residents said they were unable to watch catch-up TV, that downloads are almost prohibitively slow and that the internet barely worked if more than one person in the house is using it at once.

But now developers Taylor Wimpey and Martin Grant Homes have agreed to fund a major network upgrade.

Following discussions with Central Beds Council and Openreach, they are providing more than £85,000 in ‘gap funding’ to deliver service improvements to all existing and future homes at King’s Reach.

Work is expected to be complete before the end of November, with some residents experiencing better speeds eight days to four weeks later. There will be no loss of service during the course of the works.

Alun Isaac, Project Manager for the King’s Reach Consortium, said: “Many of our residents at King’s Reach have unfortunately experienced problems with broadband speeds and we have been keen to work with Central Bedfordshire Council and Openreach to find a solution to this issue as quickly as possible.

Cllr Richard Wenham, at Central Beds, said: “This was a key concern voiced by local residents, and the council has worked intensively with the development consortium, BT and local representatives including Alistair Burt MP, to facilitate the rollout of new infrastructure.”