Archive - Thursday, 20 June 2002


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Free internet comes to remotest Ryedale

FREE internet access is heading to the furthest-flung corners of Ryedale with a groundbreaking £273,000 project.

Three mobile Information and Communication Technology (ICT) units housing eight computers and providing internet access will come to North Yorkshire as part of the Government's UK Online initiative.

One of the specially-adapted vehicles will be designated for some of Ryedale's most remote locations.

Lucy Darwin, the mobile ICT unit co-ordinator, said: "They are essentially white vans that have been extended and converted and they will be able to travel up the hills and down into villages and communities everywhere."

Miss Darwin said the project would travel the region on a rota basis, depending on local needs.

She said: "We will tour around the area a bit like the mobile library buses. In the larger towns, we might stay a whole day, and in some of the smaller villages, go to two in a day.

"It's a new project and we are willing to be flexible. As far as I am aware, there has never been anything like this before.

"It has fantastic potential, because we have found there is a lot of demand for it."

The vans have been adapted so they can be self-sufficient at any location.

Miss Darwin said: "Even without electricity or a phone line, we can still work because we have a satellite dish on top of the van and a generator. We are very excited about the development - we will be getting the units within the next couple of months and want to get them in use as soon as possible."

Parish and town councils across the region have been consulted.

Parish clerk Penny Teasdale said villagers in Allerston, outside Pickering, had welcomed the initiative. She said: "We have nothing like that here at the moment - something based here would be a lot more convenient."

Rob Salkeld, chairman of Hartoft Parish Council, said better internet access was vital for small rural communities like theirs.

He said the village, south of Rosedale in the North York Moors National Park, had fewer than 25 houses and only about 50 residents.

Mr Salkeld said: "This strikes me as a worthwhile venture for people who have not got the internet but would like to try it. Email is useful here because often we don't get the post until 12.30pm or 1pm, so for urgent communication, information technology can be the most reliable."

Updated: 13:14 Thursday, June 20, 2002