A warning

Please can I warn those people who have had a letter informing them the street lighting in the neighbourhood is to be upgraded that it will not be without problems caused by the contractor carrying out the works, who are reinstating the street lighting without any sequence of works.

When the contractors arrived in our lane to install two new lamp standards and take away the two existing ones, it has taken over two weeks.

Works started with a sort of a flourish, only to stop for over a week, leaving holes and trenches open with barriers left – without any thought they were a target of those people who think it was funny to push them over in the road.

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One of the existing lamp standards was left on 24/7 from the commencement of the works until the new lamp standard was erected.

When no works were carried out for a week, a call to the contractors’ office resulted in being told the company’s public relations department had three days to answer my query.

When they did ring back after three days’ work, I was informed work had taken longer in other areas and was due to recommence in three days.

The contractor duly returned and the two lamp standards were erected and we had light.

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The bad news was after one night, one lamp standard failed to work.

This resulted in another phone call to the number left on the lamp standard by the contractor only to be told they had three days to return.

Finally the state of the pavements after the works was completed leaves a lot to be desired: mud waiting to be washed away by the rain, grooves in the pavement where the machine removing surplus material has been.

These works have been carried out with what appears to be the minimum of supervision, and there appear to be no inspections carried out by the council while the works are carried out and when the works are completed.

I would be interested to learn if our lane was an exception or is the norm when having new street lighting installed.

J Frame

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