We Are Bentham

We Are Bentham is a group of local business owners, working together to promote and improve business opportunities in the Bentham area. The volunteer-run group is all about reminding people of the fantastic shops, businesses and people in Bentham and making the town the first and regular choice for people to spend their money. The group have embraced the internet and social media to help promote the local area and bring people together, as shown by their popular and effective Facebook page. Superfast Broadband will also soon be available in Bentham to further enhance what the town has to offer to businesses and the community.

Nethergill Farm

Chris Clark runs the remote Nethergill Farm at the top of Langstrothdale. As well as being a working 400-acre farm, Nethergill also has self-catering haylofts, a B&B, a field centre and an art studio. Nethergill Farm benefits from high speed broadband using the Upper Wharfedale wireless community scheme (run by LN Communications). Earlier this year Chris created a network of wildlife cameras including nest boxes and river cameras, to catch sight of elusive otters. The farm quickly made links with local schools and museums who could view the cameras remotely and help show young people the links between food, farming and the environment.

Upper Wharfedale Broadband

Chris Beazley, a retired IT consultant, campaigned to bring high speed broadband to Upper Wharfedale. This stemmed from the successful campaign to save Kettlewell Primary School from closure. The school needed more pupils to ensure long-term survival and broadband was seen as an essential tool to bring more jobs and families to the dale. The scheme now covers most of Upper Wharfedale, Langstrothdale, and Littondale and means that many remote and isolated properties can now access high- speed broadband.

Martons Both Broadband

Martons Both is a parish in the west of the Craven District. Residents and businesses in West and East Marton suffered from slow broadband speeds due to the distance to the telephone exchange in Lancashire. An opportunity to extend an existing wireless network to the south of Skipton gave the villagers the chance to finally bring high quality broadband to the area. Following a successful local campaign, led by Sarah and Richard Ednay, funds were identified to extend the network. Local residents were heavily involved in installing the infrastructure to power a series of repeaters that would transmit the signal over moorland to the area. In July 2012 the area was connected. Sarah and Richards’s involvement in the project provided essential local knowledge and drive to ensure the project was delivered as quickly as possible.