Getting fibre broadband to Gittisham – Cllr Adam Powell 2025
For last ten years or more, unsuccessful efforts have been made to connect properties in and around Gittisham village to fibre broadband; it has been promised and, in some instances, has come so close. Despite the surrounding localities of Honiton, Weston and Fenny Bridges, the later less than 2 miles away, being well connected to fibre, four independent companies contracted by CDS (Connecting Devon and Somerset) have run out of funds or capacity to connect Gittisham.
In 2024, Gittisham Parish Council (GPC), stepped up efforts to fight for a fibre broadband connection. GPC talked to the principal landowner, the Combe Estate, who had negotiated, at considerable expense, two routes to cross agricultural land. In early April, GPC met with our local MP, Richard Foord, he promptly wrote to Keri Denton at CDS, and he raised the issue of rural connectivity, mentioning Gittisham, in the House of Commons. Keri Denton advised that the resources of the current contractor, Airband, were running low, in autumn 2024 that proved the case; Airband cancelled 60% of its contract to Devon Villages including Gittisham. This happened a few days before Gittisham residences had scheduled a meeting with CDS in Gittisham Village Hall. Attended by over thirty Gittisham residents, they recounted how poor, erratic, or non-existent broadband speeds (generally less than 10 mbps) impacted their lives. Working from home, zoom meetings, studying and homework, accessing medical help, were all difficult or impossible. A villager working for Devon County Council said this meant travel by car to offices in Exeter, typically a one and a half hour round trip, when there is no congestion. The two representatives from CDS, apologised sympathetically, they explain the shortfall in resources, and pointed to possible grants available that might be combined between dwellings to achieve the true costs.
In late Spring 2024, GPC had written to Lisa Nandy’s office (Minister for Culture Media and Sport). The reply was swift and detailed, it also described the grants available and pointed to the government’s current initiatives to improve 4G and 5G mobile signal which could prove an alternative method of getting faster broadband.
GPC have investigated the grants available potentially up to £4500 being available per household, a quote given by Openreach recently to lay fibre to one property in the village came to £190,000 which makes this simply not affordable, even if grants are pooled.
The GPC have documented all of the above activity by writing to the press, three letters have been published. Many other Devon Parishes face a similar plight, many such as Broadhembury are not connected to fibre, others nearby such as Upottery and Offwell have shouted louder and achieved superfast broadband.
As long as market forces determine which parishes are worth connecting, those hard-to-reach areas will remain disadvantaged in a digital age advancing faster than we realise. This disadvantage contributes to rural isolation and rural poverty, making rural Devon a harder place to live for all generations and strata of society.
Previous History
To my knowledge over the last 10 years so far we’ve had,
BT Openreach – started putting in poles to string fibre to the village, however they had not got way leaves permission so they had to be removed. (circa 2017)
Gigaclear began installing ducting up to the the forge (2018) then went bankrupt
Voneus installed their point to point system for some homes in the village. (2019/20)
Jurassic Fibre approached the Parish Council with the intention of installing fibre to premises. (2021) They got quite far into developing the plan with the estate and was negotiating way leaves & were almost ready to start work in late (2022) when they sold out to Fern trading (2023) they then pulled the plan due to costs.
Air Band came again to a PC meeting with the intention of FTTP they even sponsored the fete (2023) but early this year they’ve also cut back on their build out as the connecting Devon and Somerset monies was not available.