Upgrade planned for Shrewsbury town centre electricity substation

The work involves replacing transformers, switchgear and associated cables in one of the town’s main substations – which is situated in the basement of Shrewsbury Market Hall.

Work will start on Monday 26 June 2017 and will continue for 16 weeks until early November 2017.

Part of Shoplatch will be closed from Sunday 13 August 2017 to Thursday 17 August 2017, and Saturday 2 September 2017 to Friday 8 September 2017 when cranes are used to remove and replace the transformers.

Kevin Hare, Western Power Distribution technician, said:

“The works are necessary because the equipment is at the end of its life cycle and load growth means we need to be able to supply more power to the town centre.

“The location of the substation means there are significant challenges involved. We have to remove and replace all of the equipment within the substation including three transformers, which weigh four tonnes each.

“Our investigations also uncovered a considerable amount of asbestos that will need to be removed and disposed of safely.

“As this will be a major excavation within the town centre, we have also been liaising with BT and Severn Trent so they can carry out work at the same time.

“There has been a lot of planning to minimise disruption to residents and businesses, and we have tried to ensure local events such as the Flower Show, the Folk Festival and the Steam Rally are unaffected.”

Gary Parton, Shropshire Council’s traffic manager, said:

“We’ve worked closely with Western Power Distribution and other stakeholders to ensure that any disruption to residents, businesses and visitors is minimised while this essential work is carried out.

“The timing of the work has been agreed to take into account major events and also future public realm improvements.”