National Grid works restarting

National Grid held a briefing for community stakeholders including MUG on 10 May. These are the main things we learned. There is a public exhibition about the North London Reinforcement Project on Tuesday 17 May 2-8pm at at Nye Bevan Community Hall.

• Works will restart in July or September and continue until 2016. Up to 2015 the work is related to the new cable tunnel (London Power Tunnels project). After that it's the North London Reinforcement Project, the overhead lines up to Waltham Cross.

• Vehicle access is as much as possible via route 4 (Chatsworth Rd, Millfields Rd, EDF). Loads that can’t negotiate the Chatsworth / Millfields Roads corner will go via Hillstowe St.

• NG insist that they have designed the work to minimise road movement at Millfields. The tunnel is being bored from the westward end, and a new shaft has been sunk near Finsbury Park for insertion of construction equipment and materials.

• At Millfields, spoil from sinking a new shaft to meet the tunnel will be brought out, and materials for a head house and other site structures and machinery will be brought in

• Hours permitted for vehicles are:
  Monday - Friday 8 am – 6 pm loads, (7.30 – 6.30 site staff)
  Saturday 8 am – 1 pm.
  Millfields Road residents have pressed for no Saturday movements. Should MUG also do this?
  Please tell us if you see vehicles at other times.

• Speed bumps by homes in Millfields and Chatsworth Road will be removed to reduce noise from heavy vehicles. Hackney council Streetscene will probably substitute vehicle actuated signs (as on Powerscroft Rd). Councils aren’t allowed to put top-speed type cameras except at an accident blackspot. Streetscene is pushing for government regulations to be changed to allow use of average-speed cameras.

• NG will pay for landscaping in front of the substation. MUG is in touch with LBH Parks about this.

• The very tall ugly building at the north east corner of the substation may be removed: this is something MUG asked for when the works began.

• NG claims to be open to discussion of visual design of the new shaft head house which will be at the east side of the site, overlooking the orchard.