RYEDALE MP Kevin Hollinrake has slammed poor broadband speeds in rural villages in the district.

Following wrangles over broadband in villages such as Hutton-le-Hole and Rosedale, Mr Hollinrake also warned that businesses needed clarity as to when they may receive their upgrade, or else they may leave the area.

Mr Hollinrake, who supports the proposed separation of BT from its subsidiary Openreach, said: "It's a fine old world that we live in when a British astronaut can do a marathon in space and yet we struggle to get superfast broadband or a mobile signal to some of our rural villages.

"It is essential that the whole of the UK has a Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) network to help secure our future economic prosperity. We are woefully behind other countries with only two per cent of the country receiving ultrafast broadband via fibre, while Korea, Spain, Lithuania and Portugal are at about 60 per cent, and Japan 70 per cent.

"I paid a visit recently to a company in my constituency which, by the very nature of its business, is dependent on the internet and yet it is struggling with its current solution.

"The workforce of about 50 people, live and work in an idyllic location, and yet the company is considering moving if it continues to be left behind.

"We must encourage our talented young people and students to stay here, if they want to, and not let them disappear – probably down south – so they can keep up with the times."

The MP added that communities need more clarity over as-and-when they may receive an upgrade.

"We had been working with Hutton-le-Hole parish on its own wireless scheme," he said. "It was only by arranging a meeting with the head of BT fibre rollout that we discovered that they are included in the phase two rollout and that, all being well, they will receive FTTC by June 2017.

"Conversely, the village of Rosedale thought they were getting broadband, only to be told it is too expensive owing to the requirement to upgrade the electricity supply.

"This makes no sense at all. I am disappointed that those who hold this information do not proactively inform communities in future rollout phases. I understand that this may raise expectations that cannot ultimately be delivered for technical or logistical reasons, but without this information communities cannot plan ahead."

Mr Hollinrake said that to reduce the burden on SuperFast North Yorkshire, the delivery agency, he has offered to provide the information through his office and handle any queries to minimise the impact.