rory breaks ground at warcop cyberbarn
Rory attended an opening event at Warcop’s Cyberbarn, where he officially began the 1-mile fibre dig to the village, intended to bring hyperfast connectivity to this UK Online Outreach Centre and its neighbours. Rory met with Cyberbarn users and supporters, and helped splice the fibre-optic cable that will be used to connect this remote part of the Upper Eden valley.
Cyberbarn is a UK first, opened last month by Secretary of State Jeremy Hunt on invitation from Rory, and offers online and IT courses to everyone in Upper Eden and beyond. Rory’s visit, and enthusiastic wielding of a spade, is a first step in connecting the Cyberbarn to fibre-optic cabling nationally, bringing untold opportunities to all the residents of this rural and remote part of his constituency.
Cyberbarn founder and local broadband champion Lindsey Annison said:“The weather, which included driving snow at one point, was inclement for digging fibre, but by breaking the ground today Upper Eden has shown the passion of all parties to make Fibre To The Home and next generation mobile broadband a reality. The work parties will continue until the one mile of fibre is connected into the UK core network, and we are hugely grateful to Rory for his ongoing support and determination to make Upper Eden a pioneer in all things broadband-related.”
Visitors today included guests from afar: Disconnected Wales, Can’t Get Online social media surgeon John Popham from Huddersfield, as well as visitors from closer to home, John Colton of Lucid Optical Services and Fibre Garden from Garsdale, Warcop parish councillors and residents, local businesses, and the Upper Eden Community Plan’s project officer and national digital champion Libby Bateman. Rory spoke to the packed house about technical and community aspects of the task ahead in 2012.
Cyberbarn offers a warm welcome and IT answers for every sector of this community, as well as others from within and beyond Cumbria. It is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 1-7pm and is situated between Warcop and Bleatarn at Cote House Farm. The New Year will see further courses added to help local businesses succeed with all aspects of internet marketing, one to one courses on website design, eBay, Skype, Twitter, Flickr, bespoke 15 minute courses to fit in your busy day, and short courses such as smart application development for teenagers and those seeking a career shift into IT.
