Crap Towns / Fence Houses / Broadband
How bad is the broadband in Fence Houses?
In January 2026, 0.4% of premises in Fence Houses couldn't get superfast broadband (30 Mbit/s), 20% lower than the typical town's 0.5%. Of those, 5 couldn't even get 10 Mbit/s, the legal minimum. Gigabit broadband reached 96.5% of premises, about the same as the typical town's 93.8%.
| Broadband | Premises | Share | Typical town |
|---|---|---|---|
| Can't get 10 Mbit/s | 5 | 0.1% | 0.0% |
| Can't get 30 Mbit/s | 16 | 0.4% | 0.5% |
| Gigabit available | 3,538 | 96.5% | 93.8% |
| Town | Distance | % that can't get 30 Mbit/s |
|---|---|---|
| Washington | 6.9 km | 2.0 |
| Durham | 8.2 km | 0.9 |
| Pelton and Ouston | 7.7 km | 0.8 |
| Hetton-le-Hole | 4.1 km | 0.6 |
| Houghton-le-Spring | 1.7 km | 0.6 |
| Fence Houses | – | 0.4 |
| Chester-le-Street | 5.1 km | 0.3 |
| Birtley | 7.9 km | 0.2 |
| Murton | 8.3 km | 0.2 |
| Shiney Row and Penshaw | 2.7 km | 0.2 |
| Sacriston | 8.5 km | 0.0 |
| The typical town | – | 0.5 |