A working group of the Parish Council recently met with SSEN to discuss the power issues which have been occurring in the village.   We went through all of the various events and it appears that there have been separate issues at work. These are listed below along with any future works noted.

1. Badswell Lane:

a.      Issue/Cause: The issues in May 2023 were caused by a failure of equipment.

b.      Repair: A generator was provided while the repair was taking place.  This repair has taken place and SSEN believe the substation is in good working order.

c.      Future plans:  The transformer is due to be changed in 2025 and increased in size.

2. Netherton Road:

a.      Issue/Cause: The issues in January 2024 were caused by an increased load.  SSEN can’t determine exactly what caused this, but some elements it could be are new electric car charging points, air source heat pumps, increased usage due to the weather.  It would be the cumulative effect that could have caused this overload.   SSEN did note that properties are fed by a transformer which feeds phases.  These phases don’t go in sequential order, so this would explain why some properties had outages and others didn’t.

b.      Repair: SSEN redistributed the load.  SSEN did note that anyone who has electric car charging points/air source heat pumps/solar panels installed should ensure that their installer has registered them with SSEN so they are aware and can make adjustments accordingly.

c.      Future plans:  We have asked SSEN to let us know of any upgrades on the transformer supporting this area.

3. Park Lane:

a.      Future plans:  The transformer is due to be changed in 2026/2027 and will be increased in size.

4. Ongoing works:  Tree cutting on Fyfield E1: (the large substation that feeds our parish) This work should have been completed in the Summer of 2023.  There are 100 sites outstanding with 38 customers refusing access to their land (not in Appleton with Eaton).  SSEN is working through the legal process to complete these works.

5. Future plans: The overhead network is inspected every 8 years and is next due to be inspected in 2024/2025. Overhead refurbishment is due in 2029/2030.

6.Ongoing works:  Ground mount substations are inspected yearly.  Badwell Lane was inspected on 16/12/2022 and Park Lane was inspected on 3/1/2023.  Both are due to be inspected by February 2024.  

Communication between SSEN and the Parish Council was discussed and we now have direct contact with an SSEN representative for future issues.  However, the Council was pleased to be given the information above to share with residents.

If you do have any concerns, do feel free to contact the Parish Clerk on parishclerk@appleton-eaton-pc.gov.ukor 07767 596 650 and she can raise these with SSEN.   To visit the parish website, go to www.appleton-eaton.org.

Thank you to all who participated in the recent 20mph survey. As the survey indicated, this is part of Oxfordshire County Council’s (OCC) programme to implement 20 mph speed limits in areas where there is support from the community.

In 2022 the Parish Council had expressed its support for this initiative and for a consultation to be conducted. Based on this expression of support, OCC added Appleton with Eaton to its proposed scheme for Phase 3 which would only be implemented based on a formal consultation. OCC suggested that parish councils provide a general picture of residents’ views to give them information prior to their consultation.  This survey in no way determines the outcome of their consultation.

The Parish Council has collated the responses from the survey conducted in December 2023. To view the responses, click here. This document will be sent to OCC and the Parish Council will express no view.

The next step is for OCC to carry out the legal traffic order consultation that is required for any speed limit change. The Parish Council is not aware of when this would be, but Appleton with Eaton is in phase 3 of OCC’s programme. For information on this, click here.