A SCHEME bringing superfast broadband to scores of Brighton and Hove businesses is set to be expanded throughout the county.

The Super Connected Cities Programme has brought internet upgrades for 150 city businesses in the last six months alone.

Now the Greater Brighton Economic Board has agreed in principle to expand the service to another 11,000 small and medium enterprises in Lewes, Newhaven, Burgess Hill, Adur and Worthing as it is expanded into 2015/16.

The nationwide scheme was launched last January with £1.5 million made available to more than 500 city companies for a 20Mbps connection.

The scheme initially received a cool response from businesses with just 35 signing up in the first nine months for up to £3,000 in vouchers.

Some businesses were put off by the £400 monthly cost and tweaks were made to the system to make it more flexible which has seen a surge of interest.

Having initially been restricted to just Brighton and Hove businesses under Government rules, the city council sought permission to expand it further.

Having first been offered a five mile radius of the city limit which was deemed unacceptable, permission has now been granted to open up the scheme to 600 SMEs in Burgess Hill town centre, 4,163 SMEs in Lewes and Newhaven town centres and 6,475 in the Adur and Worthing areas.

At the meeting held in Burgess Hill Triangle Leisure Centre on Friday, Mid Sussex District Council group leader Garry Wall said he hoped that the project would be expanded to include businesses in East Grinstead and Haywards Heath while Lewes District Council leader Rob Blackman also requested that other postcodes in his district be included.

Economic board chair Jason Kitcat, the leader of Brighton and Hove City Council, said the expansion was good news for the city region but added the expansion would be limited to areas which were not already beneficiaries of a rural broadband programme.