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North East digital divide set to widen says CLA in the NorthNews that Newcastle has been selected as a "super-connected" city will only serve to widen the digital divide between urban and rural areas, claims the CLA in the North.Chancellor George Osborne has announced that the city will receive a share of a £100m pot of cash to deliver ultra-fast broadband. But according to CLA North Policy and Public Affairs Director Douglas Chalmers the money would be better invested in rural areas. "Research has shown that areas in rural Northumberland have some of the slowest broadband speeds in the country," he said. "Now we have an announcement from the Chancellor that Newcastle will receive millions of pounds to make its already fast service even faster when this money would be much better invested in rural areas, which desperately need a better broadband service to attract and retain crucial business investment." Mr Chalmers added: "High fuel prices mean that rural-based businesses are already disadvantaged on the highway and now they are being excluded from the information superhighway." |
Contact Douglas Chalmers
Douglas is from an Aberdeenshire farming family and trained as an animal nutritionist after graduating from the University of Aberdeen. He held technical and management positions in the agricultural supply industry for 20 years prior to joining the CLA in 2001 as North West Regional Director. He is a Governor of Myerscough College and a member of Cumbria Local Access Forum. He was previously Chairman of Cumbria Fells & Dales RDPE Local Action Group and Vice Chairman of the North West Rural Affairs Forum. Douglas and his wife own a small farm near Appleby-in-Westmorland keeping Herdwick sheep and free-range poultry, and where he has helped his wife to form Learning Fields, a Community Interest Company and care farming enterprise offering educational and environmental activities. He is also a member of Eden Time Bank. T: 01748 907070 F: 01748 907075 douglas.chalmers@cla.org.uk Have a problem - need advice? North Office Aske Stables
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