5. Statement by the Leader of the House and Chief Whip: Broadband Update

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:27 pm on 23 October 2018.

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Photo of Hefin David Hefin David Labour 4:27, 23 October 2018

The leader of the house will be aware that I've written to her again about the Castle Reach and Kingsmead estate in Caerphilly, where houses have been built without any broadband connectivity whatsoever. And I've got to say, the leader of the house's officials and the leader of the house herself have been very proactive in trying to reach a resolution to this problem. However, the same can't be said for Taylor Wimpey, who have refused to meet with her officials, and Openreach, who have gone some way but have fallen a little way short of my expectations. From a Superfast broadband perspective, Taylor Wimpey have sold unconnected homes on the estate, which is very disappointing, and I suspect it's happening elsewhere in Wales. I think that was recognised at the meeting that was held on my behalf with residents and the Welsh Government. Residents in the remaining 50 or so unconnected homes on this estate have been trying to raise money in order to use Access Broadband Cymru, and they recognise the support that the Welsh Government has given them, but it hasn't proven easy, because of financial and organisational barriers. The reality is, when this sort of thing happens, the developers, and in this case Taylor Wimpey, should be funding the connection themselves. They are the people who built the estate without the appropriate connections, and then to refuse to meet with the Government to discuss resolving this is just appalling. I feel they should be funding it in full, but would she join with me in pushing Taylor Wimpey to, at the very least, make a contribution to the ABC scheme?