Just over a year ago BT announced a major investment for Dunbar in high speed Broadband. This is the sort of speed that local residents are unlikely to complain about, though we might want to spare a thought for the digital have-nots in the “remote rural” countryside nearby.
Broadband speeds in town are not that bad really, but the boost is going to be pretty welcome all the same, though wait for it – you will have to make the switch to fibre and I expect this won’t be cost or disturbance free. At least this won’t be devastating our urban trees, because we have none, but I couldn’t extract from the surveyor looking at locating the new exchange box at Abbeylands whether the road or pavements were going to be ripped up.
So what’s the big deal about superfast broadband? The big promise is that this could help create new businesses and enhance local jobs. A typical town should receive a £143 million boost, with the creation of 225 new jobs and 140 new start-up businesses – or says the press release from last year.
Even if this is closer to 20 or even 40 new jobs and a dozen new startups – this would do very nicely for Dunbar’s flagging fortunes. Question is where would these businesses actually go? Seems to me there’s plenty of options for retrofitting a number of premises, which are lying currently vacant and in need of much needed TLC, though not all the premises have potential. I’d like to see a list of the available premises suitable for startups, with or without refurbishment, and associated costs and what the perceived potential for locating new businesses in Dunbar actually is.
Could the revival of Dunbar be stimulated by a select number of tech / internet based small startups, who don’t require a large box or an ugly shed? Or is the appetite to invest in tech muted, as VCs look elsewhere?