Row over power cables pole leaves Ashgill homes without electricity

Oct 27 2011 Hamilton Advertiser

OVER 50 homes in Ashgill, near Larkhall, were left without electricity for over nine hours – following a row over the siting of a power cables pole.

And police were called to the bizarre bust-up which left people in Bogside Road demanding an inquiry into Scottish Power’s handling of the matter.

The incident began about 3pm last Wednesday when, without warning, Scottish Power staff turned off the electricity to homes in Bogside Road.

They had been told one of the wooden poles carrying power lines to homes – most of them four-in-a-block flats – was rotten and in a dangerous condition.

Scottish Power workers took down the pole and were about to erect a replacement pole when they became locked in discussions with John Varney, owner of the land on which the pole is sited.

Mr Varney said he had an agreement with Scottish Power to move the pole two metres to accommodate his plans to build two semi-detached homes on the site.

However, Scottish Power staff refused to relocate the replacement pole and, as the ‘stand-off’’ continued, residents’ tempers boiled over – leaving Mr Varney fearing for his safety.

Eventually, a new pole was erected at or near the site of the old one and power was restored shortly before 12.30am on Thursday.

One furious 61-year-old resident, left without heat on a night when temperatures plunged towards freezing, said they had experienced a “long, cold and dreary” nine hours without power.

The resident added: “When the power went off, everyone was in the street bawling and shouting.

“Luckily, I was able to use my gas cooker but the heating was off and my house was lit by candles.

“My main concern was the old folk in the street, some of whom don’t keep well.”

And she added: “Scottish Power need to investigate why, without warning, we were left without power for such a long time.

“It’s ridiculous.”

An angry 39-year-old mum said: “The power went off just as people were coming home from work and getting ready to start cooking the evening meal.

“People didn’t have a chance to make preparations.

“There must have been a dozen Scottish Power trucks in the street and the police turned up about 9pm.

“We spent the night in my husband’s hut which had power supplied by a neighbour’s generator.”

The woman said she suffered a bad cut when she was groping for the toilet seat in the dark and it came down on her nose.

Police superintendent Elaine Ferguson confirmed that they had been called to the Ashgill street and added: “It was a civil dispute between Scottish Power and the land owner, which was sorted out between them.

“No-one was arrested.”

A spokesman for Scottish Power said: “We received an emergency call saying that the condition of the pole had deteriorated and sent a team out straight away.

“We had to take 55 customers off supply to carry out the work.”

The spokesman added: “The reason they were not lettered about the work was that it was an emergency.”