NEWS      from

                   Newham Council PR & Marketing

 par                    Newham Town Hall, East Ham, London, E6 2RP

                   PR 449

                   16 March 2001

                   For Immediate Release

                   Newham’s Carpenters Estate Awarded £1million to Get Wired

                  

                   The Carpenters Estate Wired Community Partnership has won around £1 million to

                    wire up the Carpenters Estate in Stratford. The Department for Education and

 par                    Employment's (DfEE) funds will be used to provide online services to residents

                   through computers and TVs. The project will test the value of such services and

                   explore the best ways to deliver them.

                  

                   The plan is to provide set top boxes and Internet connection points so that

 par                    residents can use the TV or a PC to access the Internet at high speeds.

                  

                   Richard Stubbs, project co-ordinator and director of Newham Online, says: "Our

                   success is mainly down to the work done by the partners in getting together the

                   ideas and information needed for the bid in the very short time that the DfEE

 par                    allowed us."

                  

                   The Partnership is lead by the Council and includes the Carpenters Road Tenant

                   Management Organisation (TMO), Mase, Neos Networks, Newham College,

                   Newham.net Ltd and the University of East London. Steve Tyler of Mase, the

                   project’s main technical partners, believes that the project could be used as a

                   template for similar projects in the future all over the UK and Europe.

                  

                   Linda Salim, Manager of Carpenters TMO, says: "This is fantastic news for

                   tenants and their families particularly the children at the local primary school. It

                   ties in wonderfully with the Learn Direct Centre which provides learning and

 par                    employment opportunities for local people." Linda anticipated that new staff

 par                    would be employed to support the project thanks to an in principle commitment

 par                    from the Council’s "Tomorrows City SRB"

                  

                   Jan Bless, Deputy Head of Primary School says: "this couldn't have come at a

 par                    better time. We have been looking at expanding our use of computers but this

 par                    goes way  beyond what we hoped for. It's a wonderful opportunity and a good

 par                    start to the 21st Century for our school. We can't wait to get started."

                  

                   Bryan Collier, IT Lead councillor for Newham Council added: "Electronic access to

                    services by the community is at the heart of Council strategy. Only six bids out

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                   of 31 submitted throughout the country have succeeded and the fact that

                   Newham is again amongst the winners demonstrates that the Council's

                   commitment to supporting local partnerships is a successful way forward."

                  

                   Meetings with the DfEE will now be held to agree the precise details of the

 par                    project.

                  

                   ends

                  

                   For further information contact Marie De Vere on 0208 430 3373

                  

                  

                   Notes to editors

                  

                   1. The London Borough of Newham (Carpenters Estate) is an inner city London

 par                    borough with a culturally and ethnically diverse population.

                   2. The estate is amongst the most socially deprived areas in the UK. The

                   Carpenters Estate is in Stratford Ward which is ranked as number 206 in the

 par                    Government’s overall Index of Multiple Deprivation, putting it amongst the 2.45%

                   of most deprived wards in the country. Over 70% of Carpenters Estate council

 par                    tenants are receiving housing benefit and nearly half of all tenants receive

 par                    Income Support.

                   3. Carpenters Primary School results at Key Stage 2 are lower than both the

 par                    Newham and National averages. Disadvantage in performance at primary school

 par                    level appears to follow through in a similar ratio to senior school. This is likely to

                   affect further education and career prospects.

                   4.  The project will aim to wire up all 750 homes using set top boxes with ADSL

                   and wireless links. Laptops and electronic whiteboards will be used in the local

                   school. Content will be provided from a number of sources including the Newham

 par             Community Learning Grid, TAG Learning Ltd and Plato Learning Systems.

                   DkTV(Different Kind of TV) and the Media Trust will both provide community TV

 par                    content.

                   For further information contact: Marie De Vere, Media Officer, on 020 8430 3888

                   marie.devere@newham.gov.uk

                   Direct Line: 020 8430 3888       Direct Fax: 020 8430 3777      Out of Hours: 020 8552 9587

                   Web: www.newham.gov.uk

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