Durham news
TREEHOUSES IN RUNNING FOR AWARD
‘ ONCE IN A GENERATION ’ CHANCE TO BOOST RURAL BROADBAND
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Durham-based company is calling on businesses in rural areas across the Wear region to make poor broadband connections a thing of the past by taking advantage of a multi-million pound government scheme .
IT and telecoms company , Rymote , says the government ’ s Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme could revolutionise broadband in the countryside for both businesses and individuals plagued by poor connectivity .
But Al Yong , director of the Aykley Headsbased company , says the vast majority of the public is unaware of the £ 200m scheme , which is time-limited and set to finish next year .
He said : “ Time and again , surveys show that poor broadband connectivity is something which is holding business and industry back in this country .
“ Failing connections and slow broadband costs the country millions in lost productivity every year and the government ’ s voucher scheme was designed to tackle that by offering a way for those living in the countryside – the worst affected – to get themselves a free upgrade .
“ But in the North-East in particular , there has been very little take-up and it ’ s a worry that the region will miss out on something which is there for the taking and which will make it more competitive in the future .”
The Rural Gigabit Connectivity ( RGC ) programme offers an opportunity for households and businesses in predominantly rural communities to upgrade to ultrafast wireless broadband , free of charge .
The government is underwriting the drive to ultrafast broadband and inviting applicants to claim the money . Al Yong is hoping that North-East businesses and individuals will wake up to the opportunity in the months ahead .
More information on the government scheme is available at gov . uk / government / publications / rgc-programme-keyinformation .
App to help hospitality industry fight Covid
An innovative app which had been put on the back-burner by its designers has now been revisited and repurposed to help support the hard-pressed hospitality industry .
W8R was first devised three years ago by entrepreneur and software developer , Kalvin Banks , who believed the way forward would be for people to be able to order at restaurants and bars directly from their smart device .
Other business commitments meant Kalvin put the plan on ice but with Covid-19 hitting , he recognised the value the tableside software could bring to hospitality right now .
The app acts as a virtual waiter , allowing customers to order and pay for food and drink via their phone by scanning a QR code at the venue .
Durham-based Kalvin is running the business alongside colleagues Christiano Crawford , who has vast experience of working in hospitality with some of the region ’ s top clubs and pubs , and Chris Blench , who is bringing his expertise of taking products to market across a range of industries .
While currently most of the app ’ s venues are in the North-East , there have also been signups in London , Birmingham , Sheffield , Leeds and Nottingham .
Unique accommodation at a County Durham hotel has put it in the running for a prestigious international award .
The luxury treehouses at Ramside Hall Hotel , Golf and Spa , on the outskirts of Durham , have been shortlisted in the AHEAD Europe awards – which celebrate outstanding hospitality projects from across the whole of the continent .
The awards attract entries from around Europe , with the treehouses shortlisted in the lodges , cabins and tented camps category .
Ramside is the only hotel in the North-East to have made it through to the finals , where it will face competition from projects in Mallorca , Sweden and Scotland .
Durham businesses level up with tech scheme
County Durham businesses are benefiting from increased employment and growth due to support received from a Business Durham programme .
The Digital Drive County Durham initiative was launched in 2017 to help businesses become more resilient , efficient and profitable and gain a competitive edge by using digital technology .
The programme provides free digital health checks , an ongoing series of events including workshops , one-to-one advice and access to grant funding to remove barriers to using digital technology and embed a culture of digital innovation .
Over 400 businesses have already benefited from the scheme , from metal fabrications to music coaching enterprises .
Following support through Digital Drive , over half of businesses have now invested in additional digital technology . On average they have spent over £ 26,000 , which equates to around £ 5.5m across the 400-plus businesses assisted .
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