ABOUT 1,000 homes and businesses in the Bishop Auckland area are now benefitting from fibre optic broadband.

Coundon, Newfield and Leeholme are just some of the latest areas to benefit from the arrival of the high speed technology, which is part of the Digital Durham programme.

Councillor Jane Brown, cabinet member for corporate services at Durham County Council, said: “As a council we have made a public commitment to improving super-fast broadband access for residents and businesses across the county.

“We are pleased to be working with BT to improve learning opportunities for our children and young people as well as the creation of jobs for residents throughout County Durham.”

In total, more than 14,000 premises in Bishop Auckland now have access to the high-speed, fibre technology.

Digital Durham is a £25 million initiative to transform broadband speeds for businesses and residents across County Durham, Gateshead, Sunderland and the Tees Valley.

In April last year, a partnership of eight local authorities, including Durham County Council, agreed a deal with BT to extend high-speed fibre broadband availability to around 94 per cent of premises by the end of 2016. It is also aiming to provide a minimum of 2mbps broadband speeds for all within the programme area.

For more information about the Digital Durham programme, visit digitaldurham.org