Gallery owner left frustrated by works

Roadworks are in place along Prudhoe Street as part of the Northern Powergrid scheme, which started last Friday and is set to run until Monday.

But Fiona Stanley, of The Bakehouse Gallery, said: “I know they have got to do the work, but it is right outside the gallery and my frustration is that they have picked the Easter school holidays to do this. We are quiet and I think this is down to the early Easter and the wet weather, but these works are the icing on the cake.” She added that no-one let her know about the work.

A spokeswoman for Northern Powergrid, the company responsible for the power network that delivers electricity to homes and businesses across the North East, Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire, said: “We’re sorry for the temporary disruption caused by this engineering project to improve the local power network.

“We do understand that engineering work like this can be inconvenient and we’d like to reassure Mrs Stanley and other local residents that we’re working to have the project completed as soon as possible.

“We are also trying to minimise on-site disruption, whilst providing a safe work area, while we complete this project to upgrade part of our underground power network to help improve the reliability of electricity supplies for local people.”

She added that Northern Powergrid sought permission from the local authority prior to starting the work.