Storth has reached Stage One, Silverdale and Yealands not far behind

Since our public meetings on 2nd August in Yealands & Storth, the B4YS team have been very busy. The community support for the project has been amazing, and is increasing all the time!

Here’s a quick update on Stage One fundraising:

  • Yealands – target: £25,000 – current level: 55% raised!
  • Silverdale – target: £38,000 – current level: 68% raised!
  • Storth – target: £38,000 – current level: 100% raised!

The B4YS project works as a whole, and collectively we are 77% there!

77

Some quick fundraising stats for you:

  • Range of investment: £100 – £6,000
  • Busiest week: last week!

It’s clear to see the project is gaining momentum. Investment cheques are arriving daily as people see that this really can happen.

The B4YS project will go ahead – thank you everyone for your continued support!

Please read on…

 

What happens as we reach our Stage One targets?

It’s important to note that the figures above are our Stage One targets (which builds the links between the village halls), and there is a second stage to come (the internal parish routes).

Once we have all reached stage one, the following happens:

  • We notify all investors of the date that cheques will be cashed.
  • We present our funds to B4RN, which allows our project to begin.
  • B4RN issue receipt documents including Form EIS3, allowing UK taxpayers to reclaim 30%  Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) tax relief.
  • We finalise our route between the village halls and check we have permission from landowners.
  • B4RN prepare a detailed plan for our parishes, encompassing all farms, houses and businesses who wish to be connected.
  • The plan includes a final cost for our project, including Stage Two (this is roughly similar to Stage One).
  • The stage one funds are used to buy materials & equipment for our network.
  • Digging begins!
  • Stage Two fundraising continues.

 

Storth is at 100%. Does this mean I can’t invest?

Not at all, no one will miss the boat. Stage Two fundraising starts as soon as Stage One is complete and for Storth, that means today.

In Storth your support will be allocated to Stage Two so please continue to invest, don’t delay, we’ve still got a way to go!

Other B4RN projects have found that Stage Two ROUGHLY equates to stage one, but each parish is different, governed by the number of properties to be connected and how long their Stage One route was. The stage two plan including every property requires a LOT of work (and is done by volunteers) so B4RN understandably don’t begin this process until we have shown we are able to raise enough support. We’ll find out our exact Stage Two targets from B4RN once stage one has been met.

Photos: Great turnout for Yealands & Storth

A big thanks to everyone who came and showed support at our public meetings on Sat 2nd August. The turnout and support was excellent, which is very promising for the project!

If you couldn’t make the meetings or wish to listen again, there are slides and an audio recording here.

 

Listen again: Saturday’s Public Meeting

If you missed our public meetings in Storth & Yealands on Saturday 2nd August, don’t worry, we recorded it for you!

Barry Forde (CEO of B4RN) gave a fascinating talk, and answers all the questions you’re likely to have about how a community builds its own fibre optic broadband network.

You can listen online by clicking play below, or download the MP3 file by clicking here.

Barry also kindly gave us his slides from the day so you can enjoy these as you listen, just as if you were there:

Thanks to everyone who came along. Click here for photos of the day.