The village that fell through the '˜net'?

So claim a group of around 20 villagers  who have been fighting for eighteen months to have their `independence’ from their big neighbouring town officially recognised so they can access special government cash aid to help rural communities like theirs join the information superhighway.

A spokeswoman for the Kilncadzow broadband campaigners said: “BT is installing high speed broadband in the Carluke area and the trouble is that Kilncadzow was included in the Carluke broadband`zone’. BT has said it will never extend the necessary cabling that far out from the town to us. Because of that zoning, we can’t access the government-sponsored rural community broadband scheme.”

She added that the `Edinburgh Core’ national cabling network installation was going through the village and queries if they could simply `plumb into’ it have gone unanswered.

BT said that it wasn’t they who `zoned’ Kilncadzow as part of Carluke and the reason for not connecting the village to the BT Carluke broadband network was technical and not down to cost.

Aileen Campbell commented: “I have made repeated representations to BT, ministers and government agencies regarding the roll out and availability of broadband in areas surrounding Carluke and Lanark. I continue to look for a way forward and will raise the difficulties facing people in Kilncadzow in person with the new Scottish Government minister, following their appointment next week.”