A DECISION will be taken next week over a £3.8million 5G project for Cumbria.

Members of the joint executive committee of Cumberland and Westmorland councils will get an update at a meeting in the Civic Centre in Carlisle on Tuesday (May 14).

It is recommended that members delegate authority to Cumberland Council’s director of place, sustainable growth and transport - in consultation with councillor Chris Southward (Denton Holme, Labour) the portfolio holder for digital connectivity and customer focus - to award the contract between the council and the best value submitted tender.

The project is for the specialist advanced wireless resources to support the Borderlands 5G Innovation Regions Programme.

The report states: “In response to a bid developed by Connecting Cumbria on behalf of the Borderlands region, an allocation of £3.8million has been made by the Department for Digital, Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) to deliver the Borderlands 5G Innovation Regions programme.

“A paper was presented to the joint executive committee on March 28, 2024, where approval was granted to progress with procurement for the specialist advanced wireless resources required to support this programme.

“The procurement for this specialist advanced wireless resources is progressing and an invitation to tender was published to the market on April 18.

“It is intended that the preferred bidder will be assessed in line with the criteria outlined in the invitation to tender, focused on both quality and price factors, during May/June 2024.

“It is critical that the successful supplier be in a position to start works by mid-July 2024 in order to complete deployment activity and commissioning of use cases at the five venues around the Borderlands before the end of March 2025.”

Tuesday’s public meeting is due to start at 10.30am.