A SENIOR councillor has hit back after it was suggested that Monmouthshire County Council lacked enthusiasm for super fast broadband.

Councillors at the Economy and Development Select Committee last Thursday (14th April) heard from representatives of Superfast Cymru, who answered questions about the broadband rollout across Monmouthshire.

Councillors heard from representatives of Superfast Cymru that the reason for Monmouthshire’s position in the rollout was due to a lack of enthusiasm.

However, MCC’s deputy leader Bob Greenland disagreed, stating that the council were at forefront in trying to get the county at the front of the programme.

“As the responsible cabinet member can I just remind you that we were at the forefront at the outset in trying to get Monmouthshire at the front of the programme.

“I myself met Superfast Cymru’s Director with the council’s lead officer, and we were not there to discuss the weather, we were there to discuss exactly where our position was going to be on the rollout.

“We have pushed constantly for Monmouthshire to be further up the list. I’m not sure how best to put this politely so it is probably best that I don’t and you can probably image how I feel about the statement that you’ve just made.

“There seems to be a misunderstanding about the enthusiasm in Monmouthshire and that is far from the case.”

Cllr Phil Hobson said: “When it comes to enthusiasm from Monmouthshire, we want Quadplay and 5G.

“Wouldn’t it be great if Monmouthshire could be the rural trailblazer to show that 5G could work.”

David Dovey said: “We have a real growth of electronic tech industry in our area. We are, in Chepstow, the fastest growing area of this kind in south Wales.

“A lot of people work in these industries and choose to live in Chepstow. We have in this area of Wales a very keen need for having the best services we can get if we are to develop the industries we want and attract people with the right skills.

“It is of prime importance as a county and area of south Wales.”

Martin Jones from Superfast Cymru said: “As it stands we expect to be at 90 per cent coverage at the back end of this year.

“We will then look at other solutions to take the figure closer to 95 per cent.”

It is hoped that 95 per cent of Monmouthshire will be covered by June 2017, and it was said that Superfast Cymru are ‘on target’ to reach this figure.