EURO chiefs have lifted a block on £3.35 million of cash to fund faster broadband across Worcestershire after months of negotiations.

Rules on state aid had stopped the county council spending the money, awarded in May, holding up the start of the project by five months.

The hold-up was due to EU commissioners’ concerns that the broadband process was not competitive enough, because only two firms were involved in the process; BT and Fujitsu.

The cash was awarded via government vehicle Broadband Delivery UK to help firms deliver faster broadband, mainly in rural areas, where it was not ordinarily commercially viable to build the necessary infrastructure.

In effect, the EU was trying to ensure the government was not funnelling money to a company as a state-subsidy, breaking Europe-wide anticompetition rules.

Separately, the county council wants to use the money to allow every home in Worcestershire hooked up to at least 2Mbps by 2015, and 90 per cent accessing a ‘super-fast’ service.

Harriett Baldwin, MP for West Worcestershire, who has campaigned for faster broadband, said: “I am delighted the block has been lifted at long last.”

􀁥 With the block lifted, the council is releasing £700,000 in grant funding to ‘community initiatives’ in partnership with the firm Airband for parishes including Little Witley, Tibberton, Crowle, and the North-west Malvern consortium group.