WORK is underway to bring fibre broadband to Stroud town centre. 

Last week two members from network operator Netonmia walked around the town centre as work begins to bring fibre broadband to the centre of Stroud. 

Stroud town councillor and chair of the Stroud District Chamber of Trade, Tony Davey, led a walk around the town with the Netomnia representatives to inform businesses of the service coming to town and to identify the infrastructure currently present within the area. 

He said: "The town council, Gloucestershire County Councillor David Drew and the Chamber of Trade are keen to ensure the town has excellent connectivity as soon as possible.

"The current, dated infrastructure is holding us back.

"Work has already commenced on the spine since our walk-around, which is certainly welcomed.

"Many businesses have expressed how getting faster broadband speeds will make a significant difference to their operations, and we must now ensure landlords will grant the wayleaves needed to ensure the installations can be completed without delay.

"Once we get this timetabled we can ensure the resurfacing work within the town can get underway."

David Drew, who represents the Stroud central ward at Gloucestershire County Council, said: "Stroud Town has a number of places where connectivity is very poor.  

"Therefore Tony and I have been working with Netomnia to overcome these especially with the business community in mind as good internet is vital for the future prosperity of the town.

"It is vital that this is completed in advance of the resurfacing work planned for early in 2024 though the good news is that much of the cabling and culverts are already in place."

A spokesperson for Netomnia said: “We are delighted to be investing in a full fibre broadband network for Stroud and surrounding areas.

“We have recently been working with Tony and his colleagues at Stroud Town Council.  

"With Tony's support we conducted an initial drop in to businesses across the town centre and it was apparent that it had been suffering from a lack of connectivity investment.

"We will be working with landlords and business owners to bring our network to the area and hope to be able to offer speeds of up to 8Gbps in coming months."