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Lego comes to the library thanks to TalkTalk’s superfast broadband

Pictured enjoying the Lego at Dringhouses library are front left Evan, with Helen Fletcher from Talk Talk. Back from the left are Elsa, Steve Craven from Talk Talk, Amelie, Lucy Pell-Walpole, Library Gateway Manager for York Explore Libraries, and Sam. Photograph: David Harrison / TalkTalk

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Children at the Explore Dringhouses library in York are putting their creativity to the test with the delivery of new Lego.

The colourful bricks were donated by York’s Ultra Fibre Optic (UFO) network which is being rolled out across the city by TalkTalk.

Lego Club
  • Tuesdays 3.30pm–4.30pm from Jan 15
  • Dringhouses Library, Tadcaster Road, York
  • Free
  • Age: 4+

Now the library is launching a weekly after school Lego Club for children.

The gift to the Library is part of a community support programme run by York’s UFO from TalkTalk as part of its full fibre network expansion project.

The new network will provide ultra-fast broadband to 55,000 homes and businesses across York by the end of next year and make it the UK’s first Ultra Fibre Optic city.

Full fibre

Fiona Williams, York Libraries and Archives boss
Residents in Dringhouses, Woodthorpe, Chapelfields and Foxwood have recently been able to connect to the network which delivers full fibre all the way from the cabinet directly into their homes bringing lightning fast speeds of up to 1000 Mb/s (1 Gigabit).

Residents with a gigabit connection can download a two-hour HD film in several seconds or 100 songs in three seconds, tasks that currently take more than 25 minutes and eight minutes in an average UK home.

Weekly drop in sessions are being hosted by York’s UFO from TalkTalk at the Library on Thursdays from 2pm to 4pm for residents who want to find out how to get connected.

Fiona Williams, chief executive of Explore York Libraries and Archives, said:

  • We are thrilled with the Lego, which will kick start our new weekly Lego Club.

    We would like to thank York’s UFO from TalkTalk very much for their kind support and it’s lovely to see the children’s enthusiasm with the Lego already!


Helen Fletcher, Marketing Manager for York’s UFO for TalkTalk said: “We are delighted to have been able to help the library in their quest to set up a new Lego club for local children.

“It’s great to come along and see the children using their imagination and creativity to build some amazing structures!”

York’s superfast UFO

Card image cap

Homes and businesses in Rawcliffe, Clifton, Huntington, New Earswick and parts of The Groves have been able to connect to York’s UFO over the past couple of years and the full fibre network is currently being installed in Holgate and Poppleton which will be able to connect early next year.

York will be the first city in the UK to have city-wide full fibre all the way from the exchange into individual homes or businesses that is both accessible and affordable for residents, transforming it into the country’s first gigabit city.

Research by the House of Commons Library, using information provided by Ofcom, revealed that York Outer constituency already has the fastest download speeds in the country at 128.9Mb/s, with York Central second fastest at 82.4Mb/s. This compares to a national average of 44.6Mb/s.

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