Local MP Steve Brine brought SSE bosses, local councillors and residents together in Kings Worthy today (Friday May 11) as the power company fulfilled a key promise following a series of serious power cuts.
Back in February, the MP summoned SSE to an emergency meeting at his Winchester office to explain what they were doing to address numerous, lengthy interruptions to supply which were making residents' lives a misery.
Two of the key pledges secured at the meeting included a £1.2m investment plan for the area from the company and that they would hold a drop-in session in the village, to explain their actions and the timescales involved. The session took place today from 2-8pm in St Mary's Church Hall on Fraser Road in Kings Worthy.
Mr Brine said he was pleased that SSE bosses were living up to the promises made. Speaking at the event, where he chaired a meeting with key players, Steve said: "This open day is a key part of what I secured from SSE following a terrible period of lengthy power cuts in Kings Worthy earlier this year.
"This drop-in session was a golden opportunity for them to show residents how their large agreed investment in the security of supply for the village will be spent and for people to ask questions."
SSE explained to the MP and city as well as parish councillors how their multi-million pound investment will help secure future power supply to the area, including Headbourne Worthy and across into Abbots Worthy. The work is due to be completed late Summer 2012.
Steve added: "SSE rightly took a lot of criticism earlier this year, and of course they still have to complete the work and be judged on its success, but I am really impressed at how they have held their hands up and really knuckled down to work. They brought the full team of experts along to this open meeting, and have been very open about the various issues they have, while being more than happy to engage with the community.
"On top of this, I really am pleased they have been discussing with residents through the parish council various community work they are offering to carry out as a sign of goodwill to the area. We look forward to seeing that come to fruition in due course.
"Hopefully, we can start to draw a line under what has been a frustrating time for my constituents in this area. We have a good plan to move forward and I can assure everyone I will continue to monitor this situation very closely."
Pictured; (top) Steve Brine discussing the plans with SSE team members and (bottom); the meeting with local councillors and SSE managers before the drop-in session opened to the public.
More information ...
You can visit SSE's dedicated website for the project, which includes for download all the display boards used at the May drop-in session - www.sse.com/theworthies