Research and analysis

South Essex PSBU case study

Published 10 September 2026

1. Overview of the South Essex LFFN project

The South Essex project was delivered using the Public Sector Building Upgrade(PSBU) model. Delivery was coordinated by South Essex Councils (SEC), formerly known as the Association of South Essex Local Authorities. The partnership brought together Southend, Thurrock, Rochford, Basildon, Castle Point and Brentwood , with additional support provided by Essex County Council. The final approved project was delivered for £4.4 million and provided gigabit-capable connections to 129 public sector sites across the participating authorities.

The distribution of connected sites varied across the SEC area. Thurrock, a unitary authority, contributed the largest number of sites, while the district councils (Basildon, Rochford, Castle Point and Brentwood) each provided a smaller number. Southend was the only SEC authority that did not participate in the PSBU upgrades, as it already had extensive fibre coverage.

The sites connected through the project included a range of public sector buildings, such as civic centres and town halls, libraries, children’s centres, depots, fire stations and sheltered housing schemes.

The fibre network was delivered by NGA, who were later acquired by ITS, with the majority of the infrastructure build taking place between 2019 and 2021.

2. Focus of this case study

This case study examines both strategic and site-level benefits associated with the South Essex LFFN project. Evidence is drawn primarily from interviews with two stakeholders involved in the design and delivery of the project on behalf of SEC.

The case study focuses on:

• Strategic and organisational impacts – including how the programme supported collaboration between partner authorities and contributed to a more coordinated approach to digital infrastructure planning across South Essex.

• Follow-on digital initiatives  – including the role of the LFFN infrastructure in supporting subsequent investment in connectivity and the development of new digital initiatives such as “Internet of Things”(IoT) pilots.

• Sheltered housing connectivity in Thurrock  – explored as a detailed example of site-level benefits, where fibre connections have enabled communal Wi-Fi, digital screens and shared activities across multiple schemes.

Interviewees also identified potential operational benefits at a number of other connected sites, including civic buildings, council facilities and fire stations. However, it was not possible to secure interviews with the relevant organisations to explore these in detail, either because contacts did not respond to interview requests or were unable to comment reliably on the main benefits. As a result, the detailed exploration of site-level impacts focuses on Thurrock Council’s sheltered housing service, informed by interviews with officers responsible for delivering activities across the 29 connected schemes.

3. Strategic benefits

3.1 Collaboration and joint working between South Essex authorities

Interviewees reported that the LFFN project played an important role in strengthening collaboration between the South Essex authorities. The project was developed within the context of the South Essex 2050 initiative, under which the councils had begun exploring opportunities for closer partnership working, including a workstream focused on digital infrastructure. Submitting a joint LFFN bid was one of the first major projects delivered through this emerging partnership.

Interviewees explained that working together on the LFFN project helped turn this ambition for collaboration into a more established way of working. The programme required the authorities to coordinate their plans, agree shared priorities for investment, and deliver the project collectively. According to interviewees, this process helped build stronger relationships between the councils and demonstrated the practical value of joint working.

Interviewees also indicated that this collaboration has continued beyond the delivery of the original LFFN project. The partnership has remained active in developing further digital initiatives and securing additional investment to extend the fibre network and support new digital applications.

Notably, the follow-on investment created direct point-to-point dark fibre connections between the civic offices of all participating authorities, with 15-year indefeasible rights of use. These dedicated inter-authority links provide high-bandwidth infrastructure that authorities “can use for whatever they want in terms of sharing of services, sharing of data.” Interviewees explicitly linked this infrastructure to preparations for Local Government Reorganisation(LGR), stating it will be “invaluable for LGR and devolution across Essex” and emphasising that “this project has set the foundation for the collaboration that is taking place across Essex now and will continue to take place in the digital space with LGR and devolution.” In this way, interviewees suggested that the LFFN programme helped establish both the relationships and the technical infrastructure for more sustained and strategic collaboration on digital infrastructure across South Essex.

The role of LFFN on partnership working between South Essex authorities is also explored in the Work Package 2 report on Scalability and Learning.

3.2 Follow‑on activity and wider use of the infrastructure

The LFFN project helped create the conditions for further digital investment across South Essex. Interviewees identified two main ways in which the programme laid the foundations for follow-on activity.

First, interviewees explained that the collaboration developed through the LFFN project helped position the South Essex partnership to secure further funding. The project demonstrated the authorities’ ability to work collectively on digital infrastructure initiatives and helped establish the partnership as a credible vehicle for delivering cross-authority projects. Following the completion of the initial fibre build, the partnership secured additional funding to extend the network and support new digital initiatives. This included £2.5 million from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s Ready to Dig programme, £3 million from the South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP) and £900,000 from National Highways.

Second, interviewees indicated that the infrastructure delivered through the LFFN project provided a foundation for a range of subsequent digital initiatives. The fibre network established through the programme created a backbone that could be extended and used to support new applications and services across the area. This includes the direct point -to-point dark fibre connections between the participating authorities described above.  Other examples highlighted by interviewees are described below.

Additional connections to public sector and community sites

The follow-on funding extended the network significantly beyond the original 129 LFFN sites. Interviewees described how the additional investment enabled them to “fill gaps” and connect what had initially been “a number of islands” into “more of the network that you would see today.”

The extended network now connects approximately 250 public and community sites across South Essex, comprising 280 kilometres of fibre. This expansion included community centres that had been excluded from the original LFFN bid due to state aid rules. The extension now provides free connectivity to community centres in partnership with Essex County Council, supporting digital inclusion initiatives that would not have been possible without the original LFFN infrastructure.

LoRaWAN platform

The South Essex authorities developed a publicly owned LoRaWAN (Long Range Wide Area Network) using funding from National Highways’ community fund. This IoT network became operational in August 2025 and uses the LFFN fibre infrastructure as its backhaul, with most gateways hosted at sites with fibre connections.

Interviewees explained that the LoRaWAN enables smart city activities and offers capabilities for early interventions through applications including flood monitoring, traffic monitoring, energy use tracking, water leak detection, and independent care monitoring. The critical role of the fibre network was emphasised:

“that network would not be there if it hadn’t been for LFFN…the lower band network would have been difficult to justify without being able to say, well, we own the network, but we’ve also got the backhaul, the fibre, the internet connectivity to each of those gateways.”

The first proof-of-concept sensor projects were scheduled for delivery by the end of October 2025. One example discussed was a pilot in Thurrock housing services to monitor damp and mould in social housing, which would use the LoRaWAN network rather than more costly SIM card-based solutions.

While interviewees indicated that these initiatives could generate operational and cost benefits in the future, they emphasised that the pilots are still at an early stage and that robust evidence of impacts is not yet available.

CCTV upgrades in Castle Point

Castle Point Borough Council secured significant funding for CCTV improvements that will replace an existing wireless CCTV network with one based on fibre connectivity. Again, interviewees were clear that this was attributable to LFFN:

“if it hadn’t been for that original investment which then built over the next two phases, Castle Point would not be now going ‘actually, we can now have a really robust digital CCTV network. It would never have happened’”

Interviewees indicated that the upgrade is expected to improve reliability and reduce operational costs once the system becomes fully operational. The council is also exploring whether the extended network could support free connectivity in community venues to help address digital inclusion challenges.

Improved connectivity for business parks

Interviewees also reported that the presence of the fibre network helped encourage further commercial investment in the area. In particular, ITS extended services to business parks and made wholesale access available to other providers serving local businesses. This pattern is consistent with wider evidence from Work Package 1, Local and National Broadband Market Impacts, which identified similar expansion of commercial networks by ITS, building on LFFN‑funded infrastructure in other locations

Potential future uses

Finally, interviewees noted that the fibre backbone created through the programme could potentially support future 5G deployment or mobile backhaul. However, they explained that no specific council plans or commitments from mobile network operators had been established at the time of the interviews. As a result, any benefits associated with mobile connectivity remain prospective rather than planned.

3.3 Influencing local planning and strategy

Interviewees indicated that the collaboration developed through the LFFN project helped raise the profile of digital connectivity within local and regional strategy. They reported that working together on the programme encouraged the participating authorities to take a more coordinated approach to digital infrastructure planning.

One interviewee suggested that the relationships developed through the project helped shape wider collaboration across the county, particularly as authorities began to consider future governance changes and regional strategy development:

“The collaboration that is taking place across Essex now and will continue to take place in the digital space with LGR and devolution, and there is already a digital strategy for Greater Essex… I do not believe that that level of collaboration would have been there if it wasn’t for things that were triggered by this project… this level of collaboration did not exist before.”

Interviewees also reported that councils across the partnership had begun to place greater emphasis on digital connectivity within their own local strategies and planning frameworks. According to one interviewee, the experience of developing and delivering the LFFN project helped establish a clearer focus on digital infrastructure as part of local policy:

“Each one of them now has a clear focused approach about digital connectivity… And I think that is through this LFFN project.”

4. Site-level benefits: Sheltered Housing

The exploration of site level benefits has focused on the benefits for the 29 sheltered housing sites in Thurrock that were connected to fibre broadband through the LFFN project.  These sites comprise approximately 1,300 properties with around 2,000 tenants across the borough. Each site includes a communal hall and an office for sheltered housing officers, who provide a wide range of support services to tenants.

The sheltered housing service manages tenancies and provides support with housing benefit, rent, and other benefit applications. Officers also provide personal support on sensitive issues and signpost tenants to specialist services such as social services and public health as needed. The communal halls are used for tenant meetings, social activities, and sessions delivered by external organizations including police, public health teams, and adult social care services.

The benefits of the upgrade were explored through an interview with senior officers and managers for the sheltered housing service.

4.1 Previous challenges with connectivity

Before the upgrade, connectivity across the sheltered housing schemes was described as unreliable and severely limited. Sites relied on older copper-based connections, and staff reported that performance was “very, very hit or miss.” The connection quality was so poor that it frequently cut out during use, and mobile tethering was sometimes used as a workaround. However, this was also unreliable due to variable signal quality across the sites.

Connectivity was largely confined to office use by staff, with limited or no practical Wi-Fi access for tenants in communal spaces. Interviewees emphasised that tenants had no access to the internet before the upgrade, stating “we didn’t have broadband” in the halls and “it was just office staff.” This constrained both routine operational activity and the ability to run digital inclusion activity consistently across the service. The poor connectivity meant that basic tasks took significantly longer, with staff experiencing slow log-on times and frequent interruptions. One interviewee reflected that without the upgrade, the service

“would still look like it was. It would be what I call the Dark Ages.”

4.2 Improvements enabled by the South Essex LFFN project

Interviewees described a transformational change in what was possible across Thurrock’s sheltered housing schemes following the LFFN upgrade. The most immediate change was improved reliability: “It’s amazing… we’ve not had the internet go down on [any] sites.” This mattered because it shifted connectivity from something that had to be worked around to something that could be relied on for routine delivery.

Key benefits for the sheltered housing service are described below.

Expanded and more equitable access for tenants

A key benefit of the upgrade was expanded tenant access to the internet. Wi‑Fi is now available in communal halls across the schemes, enabling residents without home connections to access online services, complete digital forms and stay in touch with others. This has helped them to be more independent and less reliant on staff for simple online tasks that they cannot do at home because they do not have an internet connection:

“They might need to do a housing application, for instance, [and they] can’t do it at home, but they can bring a device into the hall or use the TVs to do so. So [it has] just sort of been able to open up their digital world so that they’re not left behind…”

Interviewees also described how reliable communal Wi‑Fi removed a practical barrier to running digital inclusion activity consistently across sites. One service manager described the significance of this for the service’s inclusion offer: “It’s just really good for digital awareness. It’s been the best thing that we’ve ever had.”

Co-ordinated delivery across multiple sites

Improved connectivity also enabled a shift towards more coordinated service delivery across the sheltered housing estate. Interviewees explained that internal teams and external partners (such as public health and adult education providers) can now deliver sessions remotely to multiple schemes at once, supported by shared screens and cameras. This reduced the need for staff and partners to travel between sites and made it easier to offer consistent activity across a geographically dispersed service. As one manager put it:

“Instead of them going to 29 sites… we can set it up on one site and send it over to all the other sites.”

For example, public health teams can now deliver awareness sessions on topics such as smoking cessation or mental health strategy to all interested sites simultaneously via Teams, rather than visiting each site individually. Similarly, adult education courses can be delivered across multiple sites

Greater viability of activities

Linking schemes together also changed what could be delivered. Interviewees described how activities that previously failed to reach sufficient numbers at any single site, such as niche adult education courses, became viable once demand could be aggregated across multiple locations. As one interviewee noted:

“there weren’t enough people from one [individual] site… so what we’ve done is linked the sites so that those [single] people at each site can actually do that adult education together.”

This mattered because it widened the range of provision available to tenants and supported a more inclusive service model, rather than one constrained by the size of individual sites.

Operational efficiencies for staff

For staff, improved connectivity reduced friction in routine tasks such as logging in, accessing systems and running group sessions. One manager summarised the impact as: “It’s made life so much quicker… everything’s a lot quicker.” These efficiencies were particularly important in a service operating across many sites, where small delays can quickly add up.

Wider benefits for resident activity and confidence

Interviewees also described how improved connectivity broadened the range of resident activities that could be supported in communal spaces, including informal digital learning through social events. One manager described showing residents how to use online platforms in communal settings and the impact on confidence: “they were absolutely amazed… They don’t have to rely on a CD… They can do it with the TV.”

Interviewees also referred to a wider range of leisure options being available to residents, including streamed content and resources from platforms such as “Oomph”, reflecting a broader improvement in what communal spaces could offer once connectivity became dependable.

4.3 Enabling factors

Interviewees identified two key factors which enabled them to maximise the value of their broadband upgrade.

Complementary infrastructure investment

The most significant enabling factor was the installation of large computer-enabled TVs in the communal halls of all 29 sheltered housing sites, funded by approximately £80,000 from public health. As the Sheltered Housing Service Manager explained: “if we just had the fibre, there would be nothing. I didn’t have the TVs with the computers, there’d be nothing and it wouldn’t have made any difference to anyone.”

This equipment transformed the fibre connection from a purely administrative resource into a tool for tenant engagement and service delivery. Without this additional funding and equipment, the fibre upgrade would have remained limited to office use by staff.

The implementation also required careful planning over an 18-month to two-year period. This included site surveys, electrical assessments, and ensuring all preparatory work was completed before installation.

Digital skills support

Another key enabling  factor was the provision of digital training and support for tenants. This was initially provided by the local Adult education Centre. However, the service recognised that a more sustained approach was needed. They subsequently secured funding for a dedicated worker to deliver IT workshops across the sites over a 22-month period, working in partnership with local libraries. This ongoing support was designed to build tenants’ confidence and capability in using the technology, moving beyond one-off training sessions to regular, accessible digital literacy support.

Interviewees did not identify any barriers that have prevented them from using or maximising the benefits of their broadband upgrade.

4.4 Future use and benefits

The interviewees expect the uses and benefits of the fibre upgrade to continue evolving naturally over time. As the Team Manager explained:

“the possibilities are endless compared to what we had before…it should just be something that will just naturally progress.”

Future plans include expanding existing activities with “more links with the communities…with like adult education, adult social care, public health” as well as exploring “generational links” such as connecting with local schools or families. The service also plans to increase use of the connection for staff training, reducing the need for staff to travel to central locations.

The interviewees acknowledged they may not yet fully understand the potential applications. As one noted:

“We probably don’t even fully understand or fully know what we can use it for, to be honest…Someone might not even have suggested something to us yet, or we might not have thought of something yet, and it might open up another door.”

This suggests that realising the full benefits of the upgrade depends on continued exploration, partnership development, and openness to new opportunities as they emerge. The broader housing service has already identified additional uses, such as using the infrastructure to monitor issues like damp and mould in properties.

5. Conclusions

5.1 Site level benefits: Sheltered Housing

This case study provides new evidence on the benefits of improved digital connectivity for sheltered housing services, which have not been examined in previous BDUK‑commissioned evaluations.

Interviewees described a shift from unreliable, staff‑only connectivity to stable, high‑capacity broadband that supports both service delivery and resident activity. Key benefits included expanded tenant access through communal Wi‑Fi, enabling greater independence and improved digital inclusion; more coordinated delivery across multiple schemes, allowing services and partners to deliver sessions remotely across 29 sites; and the ability to aggregate demand across schemes, making a wider range of activities and adult education provision viable. Improvements in connectivity also reduced friction in routine tasks for staff and supported more efficient partnership working, contributing to a broader range of services and activities available to residents.

The benefits observed were enabled by a small number of important complementary factors. In particular, investment in shared digital equipment (such as large screens and cameras) was critical in translating improved connectivity into practical benefits for tenants, while ongoing digital skills support built confidence and capability among residents.

These findings suggest that, in sheltered housing settings, the removal of connectivity constraints can unlock both service improvements and wider social benefits relatively quickly, where appropriate equipment and support are in place. They also highlight the potential for similar models to be applied in other housing and community settings where services are delivered across multiple dispersed sites.

5.2 Collaboration and joint-working

The South Essex case study shows that the LFFN project played an important role in strengthening collaboration between local authorities. While partnership working had begun through the South Essex 2050 initiative, the delivery of a joint LFFN project provided a practical mechanism for this collaboration to take shape. The programme required authorities to align their priorities, coordinate delivery and work collectively, helping to embed joint working as a sustained approach.

The project also established a technical platform that supports ongoing collaboration. Follow-on investment created dedicated fibre links between council sites, enabling high‑capacity connectivity that can support shared services, data exchange and joint delivery. Interviewees emphasised that this combination of organisational relationships and shared infrastructure positions the South Essex authorities well for future local government reorganisation and devolution, providing both the means to collaborate and the capability to do so effectively over time.

5.3 Extending and using the network

The South Essex case study demonstrates how LFFN infrastructure can act as a platform for further investment and digital initiatives. The fibre backbone delivered through the project has been extended significantly through follow‑on funding, enabling additional public and community sites to be connected and supporting a range of new applications. These include the development of a publicly owned LoRaWAN network, upgrades to CCTV infrastructure, the extension of connectivity to community venues, and improved provision of fibre services to business parks. Taken together, these activities show how the initial LFFN investment has been used to support a broader programme of infrastructure development and service innovation across the area.

These developments were supported not only by the presence of the fibre network, but also by the strong partnerships and delivery capability developed through the programme. Interviewees emphasised that the South Essex authorities were able to secure additional funding and build on the network because they had demonstrated an ability to work collectively and deliver complex projects. While many of the initiatives enabled by this infrastructure are still at an early stage, with limited evidence of realised outcomes to date, they illustrate how LFFN investment can create the conditions for continued expansion and future benefits.

The South Essex model is explored further in Work Package 2, Scalability and Learning, while Work Package 4, Additional Uses of Gigabit Infrastructure. will examine the extent to which LFFN‑built infrastructure has supported wider commercial and supplier‑led activity.

5.4 Shaping local strategy

The South Essex case study shows that the LFFN project played an important role in raising the profile of digital connectivity within local and regional strategy. Interviewees reported that working together on the programme encouraged a more coordinated approach to planning digital infrastructure, with councils developing a clearer and more consistent focus on connectivity within their local strategies. Interviewees also suggested that this shift extended across the partnership. The relationships developed through the LFFN project helped embed digital connectivity as a shared strategic priority, supporting more aligned planning and a stronger focus on connectivity as an enabler of service delivery.