In England, 97.1% of households have access to superfast broadband. West Devon currently sits at 93.8% and is ranked in the lowest quartile of local authority areas. Additionally, out of 650 parliamentary constituencies, Torridge and West Devon are ranked 613th for broadband coverage.
Cllr Neil Jory first became a district councillor for West Devon Borough in 2015 and became the Leader of the Council in 2019. One of their main focuses is to tackle digital poverty in the area.
Cllr Jory spoke at the Transforming Technology Services in Local Government Conference 2021 about why rural areas are often more expensive to deliver broadband to and the typical experience of residents in the area. They shared ways that West Devon Borough Council have improved broadband installation to help overcome digital poverty in the area.
