East Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy 2005/06

Leicestershire. Also important (across Policies 24 and
25) is the National Forest Woodland Economy
Business Support (WEBS) Project in Derbyshire and
Leicestershire to assist in the development of forestry
related businesses that have supported tourism, local
wood fuel industries and skills development.
Policy 26: Regional Priorities for ICT
Local Authorities and Sub-Regional Strategic
Partnerships should work with the private sector
and regional bodies to improve the Regional
coverage of broadband infrastructure,
particularly in rural and peripheral areas;
progressively improve the level of service from
existing broadband infrastructure; and promote
the take up and use of ICT by businesses, and the
public and voluntary sectors
Targets:
• Full Regional coverage by 2006
• 20% of businesses trading online by 2010
Indicators:
• Proportion of region’s homes with access to highspeed
broadband services
• Take up of broadband services
Results:
Table 4.30 - Proportion of households covered by broadband (%)
East Midlands
UK
Q3 2004 Q1 2005 Q4 2005 Q3 2004 Q1 2005 Q4 2005
DSL
Cable
FWA
Total
93
55
21
94
97
55
21
98
99.9
55
21
99.9
93
48
11
94
97
48
11
98
99.7
48
11
99.8
Source: Ovum www.dti.gov.uk
Data Analysis
4.83 As of the fourth quarter of 2005 nearly all East
Midlands’ households (99.9%) including those in rural
and sparsely populated areas had access to
broadband (up from 94% in quarter three of 2004).
The actual take-up of the broadband services is more
difficult to measure but qualitative evidence
suggests that, as in the rest of the UK, this is
increasing.
Policy Commentary
4.84 Information and Communications Technology
(ICT) developments are widely acknowledged as a
measure of an area’s competitiveness and desire to
advance.
4.85 The statistics indicate that with 99.9% regional
broadband coverage by the final quarter of 2005, the
target of full coverage has been virtually
achieved.
4.86 The Regional Economic Strategy for the East
Midlands 2006-20 ‘A Flourishing Region’ identifies the
provision and use of ICT infrastructure as critical to
improving the productivity of business and the
future competitiveness of the region but also states
that in order to remain competitive, the public and
private sectors need to plan for investment in the
next generation technologies and infrastructure,
particularly in the more remote rural areas, so that
the newest technological benefits remain available
to all.
4.87 In September 2004,The Information and
Communications Technology Toolkit was
commissioned by the East Midlands Development
Agency (emda) with in-kind support from the
Regional Assembly for use by planning authorities
and construction developers. Subsequently, the
South East of England Development Agency (SEEDA)
funded an update of the Toolkit in January 2006.
4.88 The Toolkit is intended to ensure that new
property developments (from individual properties
right up to major urban developments) are planned,
designed and built with ICT in mind, based on
established best practice.This will result in an
improvement in the property stock and it will bring
the benefits of ICT to communities and businesses.
East Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy Annual Monitoring Report 2005/06
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