Red tape madness holding back broadband upgrades to Yorkshire flats, says Openreach boss Kasam Hussain

From the beauty of the dales and moors to the bustling enterprises of Leeds, Sheffield and York, it’s "God's Own County" for people who live and work here.

But when it comes to keeping Yorkshire connected, that diversity presents a big challenge.

Our 3,000 engineers here don’t just maintain the network, they’re building new, faster, more reliable connections for the future of the region.

Our ultrafast full fibre broadband network will support a host of online services and entertainment, whilst enabling thousands of businesses to operate with certainty that they can rely on their digital connection.

We’re already reaching thousands more local homes and businesses every week and working around the nature’s barriers here is a fact of life.

But all too often, the ingenuity of our engineers is hampered by entirely man-made obstacles.

In most cases, it’s not respectfully traversing a protected wilderness that slows us down.

It’s more mundane than that.

Surprising as it may seem when you’re delivering a digital upgrade – just getting permission can be a nightmare.