HOMES and businesses in Bourton will soon be able to connect to a faster broadband as a £56.6 million project gathers pace.

The village will be one of five communities in Gloucestershire set to connect to a new fibre broadband network in the spring, in the second year of the Fastershire project.

Faster broadband has already been made available in the south of the district with more than 10,000 homes and businesses joining the network.

Councillor Mark Hawthorne, Leader of Gloucestershire County Council, said: “This is fantastic news for our county.

"The Fastershire project is really beginning to gather pace, and residents and businesses are starting to benefit from investment in this vital infrastructure.

“Many more homes and businesses will start to benefit over the next two years, and communities and businesses alike will be able to use the new network to grow and prosper.”

Bill Murphy, managing director of next generation networks for BT, said: “There is still a long way to go, but we are getting there and this is an exciting time for people in the Fastershire area.

“This project will have a hugely positive impact on rural as well as urban communities in Gloucestershire with fibre broadband providing a whole range of opportunities for households and businesses.”

Fastershire, a partnership between Gloucestershire County Council, Herefordshire Council and BT, with additional funding from the Government’s Broadband Delivery UK programme, aims to take fibre broadband to about 90 per cent of premises in Gloucestershire by the end of next year.

For more detailed information on the roll-out, visit fastershire.com.