Decision
(a) That the creation of a full business case
to accelerate the deployment of full fibre and wireless / mobile connectivity
predominately in the rural parts of the Dorset Council area, be supported;
(b) That the Dorset Council budgetary
commitment of up to £1m capital (from the Ringfenced
Superfast Broadband budget) and revenue implementation commitment of £285k
(funded from the Dorset Council Transformation fund) to leverage in external
capital and commercial investment of up to £8.9m, be agreed;
(c) That the commencement of the required
public procurements be agreed;
(d) That authority be delegated to the portfolio holder for Corporate
Development, in consultation with the Executive
Director of Place,
to submit a full business case, procure and award services and enter into the
necessary grant agreements to deliver this programme of activity;
(d) That the unusually short timescales
involved in developing these proposals, and the importance of responding and
mobilising quickly to meet delivery deadlines to facilitate economic recovery
from the impacts of the Coronavirus pandemic be noted.
Reason for the
Decision
To enable the business case process to be
submitted, complete due diligence and to facilitate the quickest possible
deployment by March 2022.