Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) has unveiled a £2m project which will see over 2.5km of new underground cables installed in and around Petersfield town centre, making the local electricity infrastructure more resilient and minimising the risk of power cuts. This 20-week programme of essential work will start next Monday (13 March), and is part of the company's commitment to delivering the best possible service for its customers.
Teams will begin to set up their work locations on 13 March, and from 20 March they will start marking up the cable route using a special paint which is designed to fade and leave no trace after work is complete. The cable route will take in residential areas as well as the town centre, and for the safety of pedestrians, road-users and staff working on the project, temporary traffic management will be in place. This traffic management plan has been agreed after meetings with the local council's Highways Department.
SSEN is keen to ensure that local residents and businesses are given as much information as possible about this essential project, and is hand-delivering letters to everyone in the local area in the run-up to work starting. They will also be hosting a weekly information stall at the Wednesday market in The Square, where they will be joined by members of the project's main contractor, Durkin and Sons.
Once the project is under way, residents and businesses will receive letters giving more detailed information on the work that will be taking place near to them approximately ten days before it starts.
The work in Petersfield is also the first time that SSEN has used Smart Barriers around its work sites and trenches. These innovative barriers are designed specifically to alert blind and visually impaired members of the community to their location, and a demonstration of how they work will be held in The Square on Wednesday, 22 March as part of the weekly information session.
Kevin Cracknell, SSEN's Head of Network Upgrades, says that the project is an essential part of the company's commitment to keeping the lights on for its customers: "We want to do everything we can to give our customers the best service possible and as part of this commitment we are investing £2m to upgrade the local electricity network in Petersfield. By installing over 2.5km of new cables, this will go a long way to making the local network as robust and resilient as possible and also minimise the risk of power cuts. As with any project of this scale there will be an element of disruption to road-users and members of the local community, and I'd like to thank everyone in advance for their patience and understanding as we go about this essential work."