Upgrade to power supply starting soon in Shrewsbury town centre
Work to upgrade the power supply in Shrewsbury town centre is due to start in the coming weeks and set to run until the autumn.
Western Power Distribution has revealed it is to begin £285,000 of works to improve supplies throughout the town centre by replacing transformers, switchgear and associated cables in one of Shrewsbury’s main substations, in the basement of the Market Hall.
Work will start on June 26 and continue for 16 weeks until early November. The work includes plans to close part of Shoplatch from August 13 to August 17, and again from September 2 to September 8, when cranes will be used to remove and replace the transformers.
Kevin Hare, WPD technician, said: “The works are necessary because the equipment is at the end of its life cycle and load growth means we need to be able to supply more power to the town centre.
“The location of the substation means there are significant challenges involved. We have to remove and replace all of the equipment within the substation including three transformers, which weigh four tonnes each.
“Our investigations also uncovered a considerable amount of asbestos that will need to be removed and disposed of safely.
“As this will be a major excavation within the town centre, we have also been liaising with BT and Severn Trent so they can carry out work at the same time.
“There has been a lot of planning to minimise disruption to residents and businesses, and we have tried to ensure local events such as the Flower Show, the Folk Festival and the Steam Rally are unaffected.”
Gary Parton, Shropshire Council’s traffic manager, said: “We’ve worked closely with WPD and other stakeholders to ensure that any disruption to residents, businesses and visitors is minimised while this essential work is carried out.
“The timing of the work has been agreed to take into account major events and also future public realm improvements.”
WPD has also been liaising with Shrewsbury Town Council, Shrewsbury BID, the Market Hall, and carrying out letter drops to affected residents and businesses.
