Two rural villages in Milton Keynes chosen to reap rewards of government's 'lightning fast' Gigabit broadband project

Two villages in MK have been chosen to benefit from the governments Project Gigabit, a scheme to bring lightning-fast broadband to hard-to-reach areas.

The villages are Bow Brickhill and Stoke Goldington and these are the only two local places named in the £5bn project, which spans seven counties.

Ministers say the scheme will give households access to speeds of 1,000Mbps (megabits per second). This compares to the current UK average speed of around 73Mbps

The other places chosen are in Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Warwickshire. Around 97,000 homes will benefit in contracts worth £181m.

Work could start this summer, says the government.

Today Danesborough & Walton ward councillor David Hopkins has welcomed the announcement for Bow Brickhill village.

He said: ‘It will provide significant benefits to the local businesses and residents in Bow Brickhill, giving the rural community access to networks designed to meet people’s needs for decades to come.

“Full fibre is capable of delivering speeds of up to 1,000 megabits (or one gigabit) per second – up to 30 times faster than superfast connections which rely on traditional copper cables. The upgrades will help grow the local economy, create jobs and deliver long-term change for a brighter future by making it easier to access the many benefits of the digital world.”

David added: “Project Gigabit is already driving growth and putting an end to snail’s pace internet speeds. I look forward to Bow Brickhill reaping the benefits as soon as possible. I hope this project delivers further sustainable connectivity benefits in Milton Keynes.”