Pushing the Boat Out

A £90,000 network improvement programme which included undergrounding 1km of overhead lines and removing ageing poles has been completed at Seaton Wetlands nature reserve in Devon. 

Crewkerne Overhead and Jointing teams have worked with the our helicopter unit to remove decaying poles and place 1km of new cable around a salt water lagoon and across marsh land at a nature reserve on the Jurassic Coast at Seaton in Devon. 

Overhead Technician Larry Mills, who oversaw the project, said: “The access issues to our network and deteriorating state of the poles was originally identified during a site visit in October 2016. We have been working with East Devon County Council and liaising with local landowners to complete the works, which included laying high voltage cable and remove poles around the edge of a lagoon and across marsh land. 

“Our team of flood water rescue boat operators were used to allow safe access to the poles marooned on islands within the wetlands. We also had the helicopter unit involved to assist in removing the poles. We worked alongside the unit for two days of training to establish a safe method of felling the poles while they were attached to the helicopter.” 

While the work is beneficial, due to its unusual location, it wasn’t without its challenges, as Larry explained. “Tide times and depths had to be taken into consideration as at high tide, entire areas would be underwater. We also arranged for ecological surveys to be carried out to establish the best time of year for the works to take place.

“Access issues to certain poles needed a combination of scaffolding, boat access crews and the helicopter for the safe removal of the overhead line and poles, taking into account the nearby tramline that was still operational during the works.

“Being a nature reserve meant it had to be closed to the public while some of the bird hides and nature trails had essential construction work carried out. This was to allow the wildlife to use other areas that were not affected by the work without general public disturbance, while also ensuring public safety.”

Despite the significant challenges, now complete, the work not only further secures supplies for 1,638 customers but also improves access to the site and positively impacts the views of the area.

FUN FACTS: 

• We also used 30 solid green oak blocks to construct the H pole bases, bog shoes and stay blocks to eliminate the use of creosote from the nature reserve.
• Boats were used to access the lagoons, plus a scaffold bridge was built to remove the decaying poles.
• The water rescue team is based at the our Crewkerne depot and is an extra role that is taken on alongside the team’s daily jobs. On the day the team consisted of Linesmen Joe Steel and Shaun Montacute and Overhead Technician Larry Mills.