Time is running out for local businesses to get up to £3,000 to help get connected to superfast broadband.

Only three businesses from Fenland have applied for grants from the connection vouchers scheme run by Destination Digital, a business support programme for connecting Cambridgeshire.

Councillor David Oliver, Fenland District Council’s cabinet member responsible for broadband, said: “Destination Digital say that hundreds of vouchers have been awarded across the county but so far only three businesses have applied from Fenland.

“The vouchers are available on a first-come, first-served basis and I’m told the money is going fast. It would be a real shame if more people here missed out on this opportunity.”

The vouchers, worth between £100 and £3,000, help to pay for the one-off cost of installing superfast broadband in business offices.

Meanwhile, 23 Fenland businesses benefited from another of Destination Digital’s support schemes, which offered grants for digital products and services, as well as training workshops to help businesses make the most of digital technology. That scheme is now closed.

Connecting Cambridgeshire has now rolled out superfast broadband to more than 83,000 homes and businesses in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, including about 10,400 in Fenland.

Chatteris and March are among the latest areas to benefit from faster connections.

For more details on the connection vouchers scheme, visit www.destination digital.info or apply direct at www.connectionvouchers.co.uk.

For updates on the superfast broadband roll-out and advice on getting connected, visit www.connectingcambridgeshire.co.uk.