PARTS of Drybrook are soon set to benefit from faster broadband.

Residents in several other Forest villages including St Briavels are also set to join them this spring as the £56.6 million Fastershire project, now in its second year, gathers pace.

The project continues to take faster broadband to those areas in Gloucestershire and Herefordshire not covered by commercial roll-out plans.

The faster broadband is already available in areas such as Cinderford, Coleford, Lydbrook and Whitecroft.

So far, throughout the Gloucestershire and Herefordshire project area, engineers have walked around 300km to undertake vital surveys, laid more than 166 kilometres of fibre cable, moved more than 350 tonnes of earth and poured around 155 tonnes of concrete to make faster broadband a reality.  

Cllr Mark Hawthorne, leader of Gloucestershire County Council, said: "This is fantastic news for our county. The Fastershire project is really beginning to gather pace, and residents and businesses are starting to benefit from investment in this vital infrastructure.

"Many more homes and businesses will start to benefit over the next two years, and communities and businesses alike will be able to use the new network to grow and prosper."

Bill Murphy, managing director of next generation networks for BT, said: "There is still a long way to go, but we are getting there and this is an exciting time for people in the Fastershire area."