Aldreth issues
Disruption with cable laying
Ansons have been struggling to get sufficient power to their new factory on the Elean Industrial park at Sutton. Although their next door neighbour is the straw burning power station with spare capacity they are not allowed to get their power from there. Instead they must get it from the sub-station at Aldreth. This means a new cable being laid from Aldreth to Sutton- over 5 miles. (instead of 250 yards). It also means that everybody in Aldreth and Haddenham is going to have their lives disrupted while the roads are dug up over the next six months.
Ansons have been trying for over a year to get round this bureaucracy, but to no avail. Gareth has taken this ridiculous situation to Steve Webb the Lib Dem Shadow Secretary of State for Energy.
The Parish Council was very concerned and a delegation have met with the managers of Ansons, EDF the electric supplier, Carillion the contractor and John Brown who will be digging up the roads.
We have been assured that the work will not close any roads and the work will be carried out in small sections of about 20 metres at a time so the road or footpath can be replaced within 24 hours. Work will start after the rush hour and finish by 3.30 p.m.
We have been given phone numbers to use if there are any problems. They promised not to work in High Road just before Christmas and to keep all shopkeepers and affected residents informed.
However we are still trying to get the power line to cross the fields and not disrupt our lives at all.
Footpath to Aldreth
The Parish Council received a presentation from the Northstowe. They spoke of a footpath as far as Aldreth. Surely a further footpath to Haddenham would be better?
They were interested and have started to investigate providing a footpath and cycle track between Aldreth and Haddenham. They are looking to restore the portion that used to exist and to provide a new path for the remaining length.
The Parish Road Safety has been trying for several years to get a footpath but have been put off by County officials because it was too expensive. Perhaps we will now get a path. This will be of great benefit for Aldreth as walking or even cycling on the road can be dangerous with passing fast traffic and large vehicles.
We will let you know of progress.
