by Sam Hawcroft
More than 100 homes in Withernsea are still being powered by a generator after a series of electricity problems in an area close to a new housing development.
Residents in The Glade, Carrs Meadow, have been affected, with a large generator now in place to help keep supplies on while repairs are planned.
Marie England, who lives in the area, said the problems began last week following a power cut which she understood was linked to building work taking place nearby off Hull Road.
She said: “Hundreds of residents are getting their power from a generator on The Glade. It’s here for a ‘few’ days, they say, while they develop a plan to repair the damage.
“We had a power cut of five hours or so last week that was due to the building taking place off Hull Road.
“That had a temporary fix on it, I believe, and before it could be repaired fully the transformer at the back of Carrs Meadow set alight.
“The generator is being refuelled daily. It’s noisy, but better than no electricity, I suppose.”
The affected area is close to the Hull Road site where a major new housing scheme is under construction.
The development will see 97 homes for social rent built alongside 95 properties for sale on the open market, in a project being delivered by East Riding Council in partnership with housing developer Vistry under its Linden Homes brand.
A spokesperson from Northern Powergrid said: “Last week, some residents in Withernsea experienced a power interruption after our overhead lines were damaged by a third party.
“Our teams carried out permanent repairs and restored supplies to all affected customers.
“At the weekend, a separate incident caused further disruption when a fire damaged some of our poles and cables.
“We are investigating the cause of the fire, and our initial assessment suggests it was also the result of third-party activity.
“To minimise the impact on local people, we have reconfigured the network to restore power to as many customers as possible.
“A total of 123 properties on The Glade are currently being supplied by a generator, and we are developing our repair plans this week.
“We will update residents once we are in a position to remove the generator and return the network to normal operation.”