Coverage For Coverdale - The Saddle Room

Statement From Tupgill Park Estate

Supporting Better Coverage For the Future

Fibre to the premises is coming in 2021 following on from many years of pressure and meetings with Mp’s and Openreach as well as superfast North Yorkshire. This will make a huge difference but won’t solve all our issues. This will also NOT solve safety and dangerous situations where we need mobile coverage.

Tupgill park estate welcomes over 145,000 visitors to the area from all over the UK as well as maintaining 400 acres of land. We have 13 accommodation units for social housing that has residents living here. We have 7 visitor residential cottages and 9 bed and breakfast rooms which brings our total stayover visitors to 54 people. We also have The Saddle Room Restaurant and wedding venue which welcomes over 60 weddings per year into the area. The Forbidden Corner (tourist attraction) is a large part of the estate and has won numerous awards as well as attracting 120,000 people. As an estate, we would estimate that we employ approximately 60 people. We welcome many people from Coverdale through our doors and have a thriving local trade. We feel disadvantaged by not having communication with Broadband and also mobile communication which is taken for granted in many other parts of the UK.

We have struggled and feel disadvantaged by not having any mobile reception here for many years and feel our safety is compromised in comparison and relation to other areas of the UK. People in larger conurbations or other areas of the UK have had 2g, 3g, and 4g for many years now and if you have this connectivity people tend to take it for granted. We now have the opportunity to do something about this as previously the argument has always been from the network operators that Coverdale is not commercially viable to put the infrastructure in. I totally appreciate Local feelings are mixed and feel we need to be helpful and proactive as well as being able to freely put our right of speech forward with no fear. Some parts of Coverdale will be lucky enough to get FTTP (Fibre to the Premises) and this will make a huge difference to the way we work and live but unfortunately, this can’t be relied on to provide total coverage and there are many properties that will not get any increase in speeds or new infrastructure for a long time. Like most parts of the UK communications need to be a mixture of both 1) Good Broadband and 2) Mobile Coverage. Broadband has got outdoor limitations especially with the geography and size of the estate.

We find in this day and age that you can actually drive 40 mins or more from Pinkers Pond to Kettlewell with NO signal available and this needs addressing. This is a busy route for tourists and people trying to work like other people in the UK on a daily basis.

I first heard of the project in 2019 via the Darlington and Stockton Times since then I have been following information via Middleham Council, Leyburn Council, Richmondshire today, Northern Echo, Dales Radio. In addition, attended the four local Zoom meetings with the local parish.

As residents and having grown up in Coverdale as well as being successful business operators in the area. I have attended 4 parish zoom call meetings and looked into the allegations of mobile communication, We would like to state the following publicly in response to all meetings we have attended. We have listened to what has been said and have spoken to NYCC as well as MANY and researched as to the best of our ability using external sources and would like to put our feelings forward. We have always found all sources of information helpful and engaging and we agree the subject matter is complicated and has mixed views.

Benefits Social and Business

Staff and Social Wellbeing

Young staff who can’t drive and rely on transport need to be able to phone parents
We have had situations where employees working around the estate have had the need for emergency contact due to an accident and can’t get hold of people.
We want to attract quality people who live and work in Coverdale and contribute to the local economy. Not being able to speak to people or use mobile communication like a lot of other places is a disadvantage and looked at in a bad light.
We want our hardworking staff to have the best quality of life and mobile communication is important to this wellbeing.
Getting hold of staff on a large country estate is a challenge and being able to phone them is a major benefit.
In emergency situations on the estate particularly with elderly people it is crucial to have this for safety. Utilizing mobile technology and GPRS
On a wedding day myself and the team will regularly work 16 hours and our main priority are wedding guests and the bride and groom’s big day. We have very limited opportunity (say while speeches are on) to phone our kids and loved ones. Connectivity would mean we can do this.

Business and Services

Banking and other websites/ Businesses more and more are relying on 2-factor authentications i.e. BT, Amazon, which require you to receive a text message. Having to constantly drive onto the moor to get a signal is not acceptable.
Weddings are a big part of the estate and providers such as DJs or photo booths can’t connect to social media when around the estate or on-site.
Contractors on the estate need to be able to communicate with suppliers locally and time is wasted driving to a communication-enabled area to be able to order basic materials.
Any conferences we have had have always complained about mobile communication and this is restricting us as a business moving forward.
More and more people are wanting virtual show around which is impossible with no full coverage.
Criminal activity in rural areas is an issue and to be able to have the ability to erect a security camera in a suspect area really makes a difference.
Social media is a big part of the business and according to public information Facebook, YouTube and WhatsApp are the big three platforms. Not being able to up load remote content or respond to customer questions can lose our business and reputation.
We have many oil tanks and LPG tanks on the estate, not being able to get accurate telemetry is hard and we have had instances where we have run out.
SMART meters are being rolled out and again having to read meters all the time is tiresome when the technology is already there.
We host shooting parties that use live ammunition and firearms there is an obvious safety issue. These are well organized days but there needs to be a provision in place regards accidents. In addition, organizing beaters and communication between drives is really important and relies on walkie talkies at the moment.
False fire alarms and intruder alarms can mean local residents or the monitoring company trying to find me physically rather than simply phoning me.

Benefits Customers and Farmers

Customers

Guests staying not being able to make calls and my staff fielding a huge number of complaints.
Emergency situations with guests where paramedics need to speak directly to the person or need to get hold of myself for assistance and end up wandering around looking for help.
The public image of Coverdale not being connected and in the 21^st Century with technology.
Doctors giving a consultation via mobile phones.
Imagine your big wedding day looking over the stunning Coverdale landscape but not able to share this with friends and family.
Due to its rural location and post code size coverage, we have many customers who get lost and are arriving stressed because they can’t contact us for directions.
Timing of tables is critical in a hospitality situation if people are traveling especially from the top of Coverdale and are running late, they have no way of getting in contact with us.
As a responsible personal license holder, it is essential that people can phone for lifts and taxis and when taxis arrive, they can announce their presence for pick up.
Guests often walk or cycle around the area and being able to have access to communication is essential

Regarding Farming and dealing with livestock in rural parts of the community these people are often alone and without the ability to communicate to family, friends or other help i.e., veterinary. Farmers often operate in a sole environment and use dangerous machinery for example tractors, straw choppers, the dangers of PTO shafts, trailers and equipment, and slurry pits not only general communication is essential but emergency situations could be covered by having cellular technology.

Image of the Mast proposed

Initially, we were told locally through the leaflet drop many allegations of what this project would mean for us and all this was very concerning and worrying however after research and speaking with MANY and NYCC here are my findings. We were told that it would be a “Visually intrusive communications network” and that “repeater stations would be placed every 300 meters to work”. From the meeting and speaking with the project organizers we learned that there would only be 1 mast situated around Coverdale for the technology to work possibly 2. The masts which conjure up visions of huge lattice metal structures are actually just a telegraph pole and the technology attached is not huge. So “masts all over the place” is not going to happen.

We were also told that plans were being “RUSHED THROUGH” and this is also not true after speaking with the planning authority they have assured me that the applications are following the normal process.

A further leaflet was then hand-delivered during a national lockdown.

My personal belief in relation to safety and EMR is that we must base my decision upon the information that has been given to me by Government and associate bodies at this time and I must also have the belief that Government and councils would not deploy technology that is going to intentionally harm its population. Furthermore, I have to make the assumption that NYCC is acting in our best interest. We have been informed that the level of EMR is NOT 5g strength and is much lower and is more at the 4g level which was launched in 2012 so more than 8 years ago which if there were issues surely, we would have been informed by now.

Children are also Effected by Lack of Coverage

COVID 19

During the pandemic, it has been essential and very tough to get a reliable connection. Especially with Children and performing Zoom calls and keeping up with classwork. In addition, many schools are posting media and work online. Without a decent connection, this makes life very difficult .. remember schools ( if they go back Easter) will have had an estimated 6 months in the last year homeschooling.

A lot of schools rely on classwork being submitted via mobile phone pictures.. To do each set of classwork every day is really a challenge.

Social well being has also been hard not being able to have a call on an evening with a class friend or local friend.

In addition, speaking with suppliers and people getting hold of us has been tough due to lack of mobile signal as well as speaking with work colleagues to resolve staff issues or customer issues. Things are not normal at the moment and maybe you are not sat at a desk or always in the business due to the children being off school so there is an absolute need to be able to communicate ” on the hoof”.

The Covid-19 Restrictions have meant that we have all been unable to visit family and friends. When most people across the country can use the internet and mobile phones to keep in touch we are unable to do this. We cannot use Zoom and communicate with anyone in real-time unless we break lockdown restrictions and advice to stay at home, drive to a location to pick up the poor mobile signal available, and sit in the car to speak.

In Summary

I really think we have a golden opportunity to change Coverdale for the better and for the benefit of our generation and the next generation. This is happening NOW and Personally, I can’t see the need or desire for mobile communication diminishing and don’t want Coverdale to be ostracized because of it. Please support. If the aim is to get mobile communication in a safe way then I urge people to work with the project to get their desired outcome. In our opinion Broadband alone is not sufficient to cover all outdoor spaces and there needs to be a balance of both to enable successful communication for all.

IF this was being done by one of the “big 4” operators there would be NO public consultation or engagement.

The project will provide SAFETY and security to ALL people and protecting ALL in Coverdale and will connect the majority.

Links to External Information

Video ON EMR

What The Government Says

MANY

Cancer Research

Ofcom

World Health Organisation