“It will bring far more opportunities to rural England than the previous innovations of canals and railways, putting people in touch with rest of the world.
“It’s outrageous that there are still parts of the country where the internet is still painfully slow because they haven’t got broadband yet.”
Defra is offering £20 million in grants to help communities improve their broadband by investing in infrastructure and set up as service providers themselves.
The Government also announced plans to stop councils blocking the installation of “ugly” standard street cabinets, which connect homes to the internet. It will also be easier for landowners, local authorities and communities to install broadband cables under public streets or private land, or on telephone pylons.
Mr Paterson said new “rural contracts” would ensure that the Government honoured its promises to speed up broadband. The contracts will draw up targets for 17 rural areas to improve business. If the Government fails in its aims, individuals who lead programmes will have a “hotline” to ministers to complain.
Mr Paterson also said the planning process would be made quicker to make it easier to convert old barns into offices, despite fears this will lead to ugly new buildings popping up in the countryside. He also promised loans totalling £15 million for community-owned renewable energy schemes such as wind farms.
“I’ve lived in a rural area all my life, so no one needs to tell me that rural England has been was neglected by governments for far too long,” he said.
Mary Creagh, the shadow environment secretary, said problems in the countryside ran far deeper. “People in rural areas are feeling the impact of this weak and incompetent Government’s failed economic plan,” she said.
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