The Nostell Estate needed to offer a stable and cost effective broadband service in order to attract and retain the estate’s tenants.
The Nostell Estate surrounds the old family home of Lord and Lady St. Oswald which is now owned and managed by the National Trust who also look after the adjoining parkland. Lord and Lady St. Oswald made the decision to renovate the old derelict farm buildings, which were all listed and two were also scheduled ancient monuments. Their vision was to create good quality office accommodation and provide employment opportunities in an area decimated by the closure of the coal mines.
The work was carried out in three phases, the first being the original Estate Yard, followed by the scheduled monuments and finally the historic walled garden.
The original Nostell Estate site (completed in 2004) consists of refurbished Grade I and II listed buildings dating back to the sixteenth century and provides an attractive mix of traditional exteriors with contemporary interior designs, as well as the latest in modern data communications technology.
The Walled Garden development which was completed in 2013 consists of 25 units which are sympathetic to this prestigious location. Providing modern office accommodation for small and medium sized businesses.
“Early enquiries revealed that good quality broadband was essential for today’s businesses. In a rural area this was initially impossible.
“It was difficult in the early stages of the development, even though the offices created were of a high standard, connectivity was important.
“We investigated using BT as an option and although there was some infrastructure relatively nearby the cost to bring that to the premises was excessive.”
Stephen Fuller, Estate Management
Listed and Scheduled Monuments Added Complexity to the Project
The Estate renovated the buildings in the Estate Yard and the utilities were brought in underground. The fibre ducts were laid to replace the legacy and unreliable copper broadband in 2002 along with the other essential utilities such as water, drainage, gas and electrics.
3km Fibre Network with Guest WiFi
In 2013 ITS were appointed as the estate’s technology partner of choice.
“All the business units now have fibre ready for them to use. When we have a new tenant enquiry we advise them of the excellent services they can utilise to make their move here as easy as possible, fast broadband service, hosted telephony, recommended furniture and carpet fitters for example.”
Sally Auty, Estate Management
Up to 100Mbps Broadband
The tenants are free to choose any service provider they want for their broadband, however most of them select ITS including the estate office. Fibre to the premise enables each property to get high speeds.
The Nostell management team are very proactive in working with ITS. ITS are also committed to continually improving the service they offer to the estate and tenants.
A Stable and Consistent Service
In 2016 ITS moved their Yorkshire office to the Nostell Estate which helps to provide the extra onsite presence that many of the tenants like from an IT services provider.
“The broadband service is very stable although the location is very rural. It takes no longer to connect the fibre than it does a standard phone line.
“A significant part of the offer is access to ITS and their services, all the offices are prepared in a manner appropriate for such a prestigious location.”
Sally Auty, Estate Management
