Farmers can apply for faster broadband grants

Farmers may be able to take advantage of a government grant scheme offering funding for faster broadband connections. 

The Broadband Connection Voucher Scheme offers grants of up to £3,000 and is predominately aimed at small and medium-sized businesses based in 50 cities across the UK.

However, in some places the surrounding areas are also eligible, which means there is an opportunity for farmers in more rural areas to benefit too.

See also: Better broadband ‘crucial’ for farmers

Charles Trotman, senior economics adviser at the Country Land and Business Association, said he was aware of a number of farms and rural businesses that had already claimed under the scheme.

Farmers first had to check whether they were in an eligible area by visiting the scheme’s website and entering their postcode, he said. (See below for a list of cities taking part).

Another of the rules of the scheme is that applicants must not have received more than €200,000 in grants in the last three years to avoid breaching state aid rules.

However, the CLA had been told by Defra that this does not include payments made under the CAP, said Dr Trotman.

“As far as we’re concerned CAP payments are not to be subject to these state aid restrictions.”

Broadband Connection Vouchers will be made available on a first-come, first-served basis, but it is anticipated funding for the scheme might only last until late October or November.
A spokesman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said more than 40,000 vouchers had been issued to date, which meant about three-quarters of the £40m funding on offer had already been allocated.

Find out if you are in an eligible area for a connection voucher.

The eligible cities

• England: Birmingham, Bournemouth, Brighton and Hove, Bristol, Cambridge, Chelmsford, Coventry, Derby, Exeter, Gloucester, Hull, Ipswich, Leeds/Bradford, Leicester, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Newcastle, Norwich, Nottingham, Oxford, Peterborough, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Preston, Reading, Salford, Sheffield, Southampton, Southend on Sea, Stoke on Trent, Sunderland, Swindon, Wolverhampton, York
• Scotland: Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Perth, Stirling
• Wales: Cardiff, Newport, Swansea
• Northern Ireland: Belfast and Derry/Londonderry