5 things to do in and around Harrogate this weekend, April 3-6Sunday Picture Quiz Answers: January 25Rural homes in North Yorkshire could face years of poor broadband

Some rural homes in North Yorkshire could face years of poor broadband, a public meeting in Masham heard this week.

Cllr Felicity Cunliffe-Lister, who cited rural connectivity as a key issue during her successful campaign this year to represent Masham and Fountains as a Liberal Democrat on North Yorkshire Council, organised the meeting.

Representatives of NYnet, the North Yorkshire Council-owned company set up to increase digital connectivity in the county, said 895 premises in Masham and Fountains currently didn’t have access to super-fast broadband.

They said the third phase of Nynet’s Superfast North Yorkshire project, which is due to end in March next year, should reduce this number by 594, leaving 301 homes unable to get 30 Mbps — the speed required to be classed ‘superfast’.

Robert Ling, speaking at the meeting.

Robert Ling, director of transformation at the council, said superfast coverage across North Yorkshire was expected to be 97% by March.

Mr Ling said this represented significant progress “but this is cold comfort to people here who don’t have it”.

Project Gigabit, the £5 billion government programme to enable hard-to-reach communities to access lightning-fast gigabit-capable broadband, would reach more homes but Mr Ling admitted there was no timeframe on when all premises would be reached.

Many of the 40 people who attended the meeting at Masham Town Hall expressed frustration at the WiFi they received.

Masham Town Hall. Pic: David Dixon

One said it was a “dreadful service that’s not fit for purpose” and another commented that their WiFi frequently went down whenever it rained hard, making it difficult to run a business.

Mr Ling said because Project Gigabit was a government scheme, and this dependence on central government along with other factors such as cost made it difficult for NYnet to accurately predict what will happen after March next year,

NYnet chair Peter Scrope said the organisation would probably have to run its own project to help the hardest to reach homes.

NYnet chair Peter Scrope

Cllr Cunliffe-Lister said she hoped to arrange a follow-up meeting in March to discuss progress.

Afterwards, she told the Stray Ferret she would like to see the re-introduction of a government voucher scheme that enabled people to install their own gigabit-capable connections at reduced cost. She added:

“This is a matter of concern to many people and there is a great deal of doubt about what is being delivered and what the solutions are.”

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Masham farmers fundraise in memory of colleagues who died of sepsis

Masham Young Farmers’ Club is fundraising in memory of two local farmers who died after contracting sepsis.

Hannah Brown was in her twenties when she cut her hand and the wound became infected.

David Cooke thought he had covid but also ended up dying of sepsis, which occurs when your immune system overreacts to an infection.

Masham Young Farmers’ Club is working with the UK Sepsis Trust this year to spread awareness of the condition and raise money.

A tractor run in May generated £2,500, now the club has organised an auction of promises, which will take place at Masham Town Hall on October 14. People will bid for donated prizes, which range from a family ticket to the Forbidden Corner to a quad bike package.

Jack Jobling, chairman of the club, which has about 40 members, said sepsis was a cause close to the heart of the farming community. He said:

“Sepsis, if diagnosed early can be treated successfully, however if people are unaware of the signs of the illness it can rapidly become very serious and untreatable.

“Masham Young Farmers’ Club is aiming to not only raise money for the charity, we are trying to increase awareness of sepsis so that people are able to detect signs of the disease faster and therefore save lives.

“This is particularly important within the farming community as farmers often cut themselves and come into contact with muck and other contaminants in their work, and this is one way that an infection can be brought into the body that can lead to sepsis developing.”

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There are 48 lots on offer at the auction. Profit will be donated to the trust, with a small amount kept to go towards club running costs.

Tickets cost £10 and include a buffet. The event will begin with a short talk and video from a trust ambassador and then auctioneer Kenton Foster will sell the lots.

For more details email mashamyfc@gmail.com, call or text 07521 595412 or call 01677 470353.