Rural Lanes

The roads which connect us to the south are simply not fit for purpose.

We had a debate on the government’s transport priorities in Parliament this week. A bypass for Aberdeen is on the list of things to do. But there is no money in the budget.

So the bottleneck that strangles our links to the rest of Scotland will remain for years to come.

But in a sense that is an inheritance from the twentieth century.

Irritating in the long term, will be the electronic rural lane we are getting fobbed off with for the 21st century.

The subject of ‘broadband’ communications means something to only a few people. And even less are getting hot under the collar – so far.

But with cities – again – getting the electronic motorways which are broadband communications and rural areas being left behind, there is a very real danger that the next generation of businesses will shun the countryside.

And the irony is that internet businesses depend very largely on individual flair and creativity. So they can be one-man bands and are perfectly suited to rural locations.

So is there hope? Yes and no. BT are now offering a satellite based service which is expensive to install but affordable to run. Although more costly than offerings in cities it is still a help.

But it turns out that Pennan is one village which won’t benefit. Planners won’t allow satellite dishes as it is a conservation area.

A small ray of hope for the likes of Fraserburgh comes not from BT but from a small company called Tele2. If a hundred users want a service, they say they will come to anywhere in the UK.

I suspect until the canny folk of the North-East can see it working there won’t be one customer let alone 100.