Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) has altered its planned upgrade works to Ascot's electricity infrastructure to accommodate the exam schedule of a local school.
The £7.4 million programme of works spans a 14km long section of SSEN's Thames Valley electricity infrastructure and will boost the resilience of the power supply to the area and future-proof the network for home and business. The upgrade, which started in February, will run until March 2020 and SSEN's project team has held three public engagement meetings to enable residents and business owners to discuss the project and the benefits it will bring to local community, and address any issues or concerns they may have.
It was during these engagement meetings that SSEN was alerted to the forthcoming GCSE and A level exams taking place in nearby Charters School, and the possibility of a temporary traffic management system impeding pupils getting to school on time.
SSEN's Project Manager, Anthony Horne explains further: "At our last engagement event, SSEN was made aware that plans to work between Station Hill and the A30 during May and June was going to coincide with the important exam period at Charters School, and concerns were raised that the roadworks we had previously agreed with local authorities and highways agencies might delay pupils getting to school. We fully appreciate that this is already a stressful time for pupils, and their families, and had no desire to add to that stress."
"Since we were made aware of the timing, we have been working with Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Highways Department and Surrey County Council to agree a revised and mutually acceptable programme that avoids working near the school during this time. This is a great example of why we hold public engagement meetings, as our aim is to minimise disruption to our customers, while maximising the safety of our colleagues and our customers who may be in the vicinity of this project."
"SSEN will always take feedback from these events on board and will work to alleviate any concerns raised. It's important to us that those living and working near to our projects understand the extent of the works we are carrying out and that we understand why some of our proposed plans can be seen as problematic, that way we can work together and find the best solution."
Letter drops will continue to be carried out to homes and businesses to update them on the phases of the project as it reaches their immediate area and, as some of the areas of the upgrade may lead to minor traffic management systems being used temporarily, details will be posted on www.roadworks.org.
In addition to this, a dedicated webpage has been set up to enable any interested parties to follow the progress of the multi-million pound investment in the network from Ascot to Longcross.
To find out more about the project which will support a more robust power supply for the area, through the undergrounding of sections of cable and the refurbishment of the primary substation at the site of the Military Vehicles and Engineering Establishment, and will also allow for future commercial and residential connections, please go to: www.ssen.co.uk/Ascot-Longcross/.