HOMES and businesses across North Yorkshire – including South Craven – have been pledged extended superfast broadband.

The contract has been signed for phase three of the Superfast North Yorkshire project.

Coverage with speeds of more than 30Mbps will now be provided to an additional 14,239 premises.

North Yorkshire County Council – which with its wholly-owned company, NYnet, has agreed the deal with Openreach – will be among the principal funders of the £20.5 million phase.

The latest roll-out means that 95 per cent of all homes and businesses in the county will have access to superfast broadband.

County Councillor Don Mackenzie, executive member for broadband, said: "The outcome of the phase three procurement is remarkable and puts the quality of broadband provision to some of our most remote communities on to a new, much higher level.

"Openreach will now be compiling a list of communities likely to be included in the phase three programme, which we expect to be published in April."

Steve Haines, for Openreach, welcomed the latest scheme.

"This major investment is a vital new chapter in the story of rolling out high-speed fibre broadband across North Yorkshire," he added.