Electricity North West’s £1m power network upgrade in Windermere will resume later this month after it was paused for the summer tourist season.
The power network operator made the decision to pause work to reduce disruption for visitors and local businesses.
The essential engineering project, planned in partnership with Westmorland and Furness Council and Cumbria Tourism will create crucial new capacity in the local power network to enable the installation of Windermere’s first electric ferry as well as potential new electric car charging points.
Now, with the summer holidays at an end, engineers have confirmed work will recommence on Monday 18 September as the project enters the next stage.
John Wilkinson, who is overseeing the work in Windermere for Electricity North West, said: “This project is about meeting the future needs of the local area, but we felt it was important to pause work over the summer holidays, so businesses and visitors had minimal disruption.
“We’d made good progress up until the break and we’ll continue to work as quickly and as safely as possible once we resume.
“We’ve already laid most of the ducting and the next stage is to pull the cables through and connect them up to the existing network. The work we’re carrying out is a major investment for the town and hundreds of thousands of visitors and businesses will benefit.
“I want to thank the businesses for their understanding and co-operation and apologise for any disruption.”
As part of the next stage, engineers will install the final section of duct whilst also starting the installation of the cable through it. The cable sections will then be jointed together.
Engineers will work up until mid-October before pausing again until early January when the final stages of the project will be completed which will include energising the cables.
Gill Haigh, Cumbria Tourism’s managing director, added: “Electricity North West’s project in Windermere is set to bring long-term benefits to both the visitor economy and our communities.
“We really value their understanding of our industry’s importance to our businesses community and the many local jobs it supports. The pausing of the works during the peak holiday season was greatly appreciated and we now look forward to the project progressing and the improvements it will bring.”
