Cramlington roadworks delays an 'absolute disgrace' with street lights still disconnected and pavements unfinished

Cllr Mark Swinburn, who represents the Cramlington Village ward, called out Northern Powergrid for a “lack of care and concern” over the Station Road works.

He said he tried to get updates on the work after being contacted by a number of concerned residents, but had not received a response.

Work on the road has been ongoing since summer 2022, and has resulted in a series of diversions and delays. Originally scheduled to last five months, work is being carried out on behalf of developers Bellway Homes and Persimmon Homes in connection with the nearby St Nicholas Manor estate.

Most of the work has been completed but Northern Powergrid is still installing mains connections. At the moment, not even the street lights are connected to the grid, leaving the area in total darkness at night.

Cllr Swinburn said: “We do not know what is going on. It is an absolute disgrace.

"As the dark nights have drawn in and the clocks are due to change at the end of this month, it is completely unacceptable to still not have mains street lighting connected around this busy junction.

“I see no reason why it has taken so long for the signage to finally be installed or for the footpaths to be completed.

“Neither can I understand why there has been no attempt to make good the mess of the surrounding verges, which have been left in such an unacceptable overgrown condition for so long, now that the main roadworks have been completed.

“This is having such a detrimental effect on the area and I am, quite frankly, shocked that there is such a lack of care and concern by both the contractors and developers responsible. I am sure that they would not accept it outside their house.”

A spokesman for Bellway Homes said: “Regretfully, the delays are due to service providers, meaning the associated street lighting and topping of a pavement cannot be completed until the required diversions and connections have been completed by the network operator NPG.

"We are unable to provide any specific timescales on this as the delay is out of our control.”

Northern Powergrid has now committed to carrying out work next week, if the weather allows it.

Its spokesperson said: “The scheme at Station Road in Cramlington involves high voltage and low voltage cable diversions to allow for road layout changes in respect of a new housing development being built in the area.

“Our partners are working to install low voltage cables to provide power for street lighting and we have liaised with them to request that they return to site to secure the barriers.

"We can confirm the pallets and spoil photographed on social media are not part of Northern Powergrid’s scheme of works, and our team has contacted the relevant contractors to make them aware.

“Our regional customer service manager has contacted Cllr Swinburn directly and provided an update on our remit to carry out the electricity changes to support the housing development.”