THERE are currently no plans for almost 4,000 premises in west Dorset to be connected to Superfast broadband.

By the end of Superfast Dorset's contract with BT this year, more than 12,000 premises across the county will still be without Superfast broadband, including 3,800 in west Dorset.

Communities where no premises will have access to Superfast speeds include Chilcombe, Littlebredy, Haydon and Nether Cerne - while thousands of properties scattered across west Dorset will still be without a Superfast connection.

Matthew Piles, service director for economy at Dorset County Council, said that the authority hopes to be able to connect all premises in the county by 2020.

In a report to councillors, he said: "Universal provision of superfast broadband is critical to the future economic and social prosperity of the county of Dorset.

"By the end of contracted deployment, over 12,000 premises will remain without access to superfast broadband. It is an ambition that fast and reliable broadband should be available to all."

David George, from the South West NFU, said that broadband capability was "a bit of a lottery" and that lack of service can prevent rural businesses from developing.

He said: "The issue for farms is that, by their nature, they are often somewhat isolated, so the expense involved in connecting up broadband can be very considerable.

"What makes this particularly annoying is that many Government services, for instance, the Basic Payment Scheme, either expect you to be able to apply online or to be able to download lengthy guidance documents which are often not available on paper.

"The NFU’s argument is that the expense involved in making sure rural businesses including farms have access to a decent connection would soon repay itself because it would enable those businesses to run more efficiently."

A spokesman from Superfast Dorset said that despite the 3,800 premises without plans for access to the connection, 97 per cent of west Dorset properties can access broadband.

A spokesman said: "Around 95 per cent of premises in Dorset can now take a superfast fibre broadband service and we will reach even more communities this year.

"Speeds do not improve automatically. People must contact an internet provider and ask to switch to fibre broadband. Not all suppliers offer fibre services in all areas, for example TalkTalk don’t in Bridport.

"We are currently out to tender for ultrafast work which will help to address some of the 3,800."

Campaigners in Uploders launched a campaign in 2015 to bring Superfast broadband to the village. The group is hoping the service is rolled out this year.

Campaigner Claire Upton said: "The impact of a Superfast broadband service without the current variations in band width or drop-outs will be significant to local businesses and students within the village.

"Even since the commencement of our campaign for Superfast broadband to be delivered to our village a couple of years ago, demands for businesses to access HMRC and other portals has increased immensely. Our modern world requires us to be constantly online to be able to exist - enabling our continued presence within a rural setting is relying on the delivery of a reliable and improved broadband connection."