Power cable work causes anger over village green

Contractors working in a Teesdale village have caused an unacceptable amount of damage, according to residents.

Northern Powergrid has been laying electrical cable from Newbiggin to Weardale along the C28 road in a project meant to last 13 months.

Residents were initially angered that the village green was used as a dumping ground for spoil and other materials as well as parking.

Large vehicles passing through the tiny community have also damaged walls and buildings, claim villagers.

Following complaints, Northern Powergrid agreed to repair and re-seed the damaged areas of the green.

That work was eventually carried out late last month, but the quality of the job they did has been criticised.

Cllr Wayne Appleton, who lives in the village and is a member of Middleton and Newbiggin Parish Council, said: “The contractors who were putting a new underground cable in decided to dump everything on the village green and made a right mess.

“I don’t know what they were thinking. They also made a mess of the tarmacadam and there are wagons going through the village continuously, which nobody knew anything about. They’ve hit the side of my building three times with a wagon.”

Regarding the repaired green, he added: “It was levelled off and seeded on the morning and there were contractors’ cars, trailers and dumpers parked on it by about 12 o’clock.

“They’ve tried to level it off, but it looks as though they’ve thrown the grass seeds from the van. It looks terrible.”

The Mercury contacted Northern Powergrid about the state of the green and the standard of the repair work.

A spokesperson said: “The works in Newbiggin are part of an investment programme to underground sections of the local network, helping to strengthen the resilience of electricity supplies in the area.

“We have worked with the community throughout the project and have acted on concerns raised about the green, carrying out reinstatement works including re-seeding.

“We have also instructed our contractors not to park on the green. However, as the area is publicly accessible, we are unable to control parking by members of the public or other third parties.

“We are not aware of any reports of damage to private property associated with these works.

“However, should any concerns be brought to our attention, they would be fully investigated through our established claims process. Anyone wishing to report potential damage can do so by calling 105.”