BRENTWOOD motorists are facing a summer of severe disruption with the start of a major scheme to lay a high voltage underground power cable across the borough.
Many are angry at the lack of warning ahead of the start of a prolonged period of roadworks as a cable is laid from Brentwood Station to Wash Road straight through the middle of the town.
Power cable work set to disrupt Brentwood motorists - a full list here The work, which started in Rose Valley on Monday, saw the road closed to traffic until August 9.Work also started on Wash Road, Hutton, on Monday, causing disruption, with two-way traffic lights in place until August 10.
From today (Wednesday), Middleton Hall Lane in Brentwood will be closed until August 15 as part of the UKPower scheme.
The works are not scheduled to finish until October.
The scheme has taken many by surprise.
Adrian Tidbury, asset and technical manager at Brentwood Borough Council tried to organise a presentation to the Highways Panel, but Essex County Council did not consider it relevant – despite the contractors and UK Power Networks being willing to take questions.
The works in Brentwood are part of a £14 million scheme that will see 27km of power cables replaced between Shenfield and Dagenham.
The company is seeking to improve the reliability of supply for customers in Brentwood, Romford and Gidea Park.
In an e-mail Mr Tidbury told Hutton ward councillor Russell Quirk : "This work will be disruptive and will be handled totally by Essex County Council.
"I have been able to insist that the majority of the works, particularly adjacent to schools etc, is completed during the holidays and that there will be a number of teams all working at the same time to get the work done in different areas, although I don't recall seeing any temporary closure notices sent through."
Gerry Bender of Save Brentwood Action Group said he was dismayed at the lack of warning.
He said: "I attended the pantomime that purported to be an Ordinary Council meeting last week.
"Not one word about this impending chaos was mentioned.
"One would have thought that a project, which closes off Queens Road for two months, Rose Valley and other roads was of significance.
"At the end of the day it is the electorate residents, businesses and our poorly-maintained environment that will suffer."
Councillor Barry Aspinall, who had experience working on power cabling for the London Underground, could not see why the cable could not run along the railway – the two substations are both situated close to the tracks.
He said: "This is outrageous. As far as I am concerned there is no reason why they can't put the new cable along the side of the railway.
"It would remove the need to dig up the road, which is going to cause chaos and in all likelihood, the contractors will end up damaging pipes and drains that are already beneath the road.
"Remember this is going past seven schools."
Mr Quirk said: "It is appalling that Brentwood councillors are not informed about such a significant thing as major road closures that effect the whole of the borough."
Keith Parker, chairman of Brentwood's highways panel, has insisted that councillors have known about it for some time.
He added: "It seems the contractors have decided to do road closures and have responded to our request.
"We asked for road closures, which would be quicker than having a two-way traffic light system."
An Essex County Council spokesman said: "While Essex County Council is aware of these utility works, they are the responsibility of the utility company and not the county council.
"If residents wish to find out more information about these works, they can contact UK Power Networks."
UK Power Networks says that in built-up or residential areas power cables are normally placed underground to reduce the risk of damage.
Project manager for UK Power Networks Chris Sugars, who is heading up the scheme, said: "This is a large-scale project which shows our commitment to ensuring power supplies remain reliable for our customers now and into the future.
"We have worked closely with the local authorities in each area to ensure we cause the least disruption possible to residents and motorists.
"We will also be liaising with residents and businesses in each of the areas where this vital work is being carried out and keeping them informed if they are likely to be inconvenienced in any way."
