Gostrey Meadow building project delayed by mystery cables

Work on Farnham's new Gostrey Meadow amenity building has been delayed by several weeks after contractors uncovered two unidentified electricity cables during groundworks.

The unexpected discovery has halted part of the project while engineers investigate whether the cables are still live, Farnham Town Council's Town Clerk has confirmed.

The delay came as SSEN engineers attempted to divert a main electricity cable running from the substation near the Borelli Shelter, which supplies the flats behind the site. While excavating the trench, workers uncovered two additional cables that were not shown on utility records.

Despite returning to the site twice, SSEN has still been unable to establish whether the cables are live.

Retiring town clerk Iain Lynch said: "They've been back twice and still haven't been able to tell us whether those cables are live or not.

"It's has been frustrating for us as you never get to speak to the department that is dealing with it so we have had to go through other people adding on time."

The cables are believed to date from before modern armoured cabling was introduced, when electricity lines were marked underground with ceramic tiles bearing the electricity board's name to warn anyone digging nearby.

With no way of confirming who owns the cables or whether they remain in use, SSEN has been unwilling to declare them safe. As a result, the town council is now considering building over the cables rather than waiting for diversion work to be completed, on the understanding that they would have to be relocated if any future fault arose.

Despite the setback, demolition of the old amenity building and the Borelli Shelter has already begun. Mr Lynch described the work as "the key first element" in allowing the wider project to progress.

A further meeting with contractors is expected next week, when the council hopes to have a clearer timetable for the scheme.

The new amenity building forms part of the wider Gostrey Meadow redevelopment, which also includes a public art commission funded separately from the main construction budget.

A Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) spokesperson said: “We’ve completed the main part of the work to divert this customer’s connection. During this process, two cables which were unmarked on maps were found.

“The origin and ownership of these cables is not absolutely clear, and the specific team delivering the connection at this site is statutorily not allowed to carry out any work on them.

"This is why the customer was directed to SSEN's general enquiries team, who have booked in an inspection with the customer, which will help inform next steps to solve this matter.”