Exposed high voltage cable on path ‘not a danger to the public’

NORTHERN Powergrid and Urban Green have insisted that a live high voltage cable which has been exposed on a Newcastle footpath since last year is not a danger to the public.

The cable is on the former waggonway connecting Walbottle and Blucher and runs alongside the New Burn. Subsidence and erosion to a raised bank has exposed the cable.

The site was closed off from early December 2023, while the path closure continued over Christmas before it was reopened in 2024, with fencing placed around the area “to alert the public of the collapsed section”.

However, 58-year-old Christopher Tubman of Newburn believes that the exposed wire still poses a danger to the public, and is avoiding walking his saluki lurcher on the track until it is fixed.

Former archaeologist Christopher told The Chronicle: “I walked up there on Tuesday afternoon with my dog expecting to see that all the work had been completed and the bank had been supported and reinstated, but it was significantly worse than the last time I saw it.

“I used to work as an archaeologist and if I saw anything like this when we did urban excavations, I would have closed it down immediately until it was made safe.”

Christopher reported the matter to Urban Green, Northern Powergrid, Newcastle City Council and his local councillor Stephen Fairlie, and is frustrated at the lack of action. He continued: “It’s really frustrating, Urban Green having given no timescale about making the footpath safe.

“In the meantime, they’re going to let the public walk along a potentially lethal path that’s been undermined and could collapse completely.

“Northern Powergrid have said they’ll do an inspection within five days but they won’t class it as an emergency.

“You’re telling me a live cable hanging in the air on a path which is accessible to the public isn’t urgent?

“It’s a serious risk to the public and there’s a lot of buck-passing here, I just can’t believe how poor the response is.”

Semi-retired Chris wants something to be done before a member of the public or someone’s pet get seriously hurt.

He said: “If somebody goes over there with a horse, as some people do, the path could collapse and you’ve got a horse going into a high voltage live cable - as well as the risk to children playing up there.

“Those cables are meant to be at least a metre underground. I’m quite shocked to see a high-voltage cable live that completely exposed, it’s meant to be buried in the ground for a reason - to keep it safe.”

A spokesperson for Urban Green said: “During a period of very wet weather in late November/early December last year, a small section of the footpath in Walbottle Brickworks collapsed, leaving a Northern Powergrid cable exposed.

“The site was closed off to park users as a matter of caution and Northern Powergrid conducted a safety check of the area.

“A review of the exposed cable confirmed it was low risk as no electric wires were exposed and it remained fully insulated.

“The path closure continued over Christmas as a further precaution to allow the footpath to stabilise. It was reopened in early 2024 with fencing placed around the area to alert members of the public to the collapsed section.

“Visitors to the park can still safely use the path without disruption, and the area is checked regularly to ensure no further sections of the footpath have eroded and the fence remains in place. Because the footpath poses no danger to park users, we are currently prioritising more urgent repair works across the city green spaces.

“The damaged footpath in Walbottle Brickworks will be addressed in the future and we are continuing to monitor it closely.

“If any visitors to the site have concerns about the path, access around the area, or notice the fencing down, we’d ask them to please email us via info@urbangreennewcastle.org.uk.”

A spokesperson for Northern Powergrid said: “We were made aware of the exposed cable in Walbottle Village on 5 March 2024, which has been caused due to subsidence in the area.

“The cable has been assessed by an engineer and is not damaged, however, the land needs to be repaired and the area reinstated by the land owner, who we have been in touch with and asked to be kept updated.

“We are also happy to provide health and safety guidance. Our teams are assigned to visit and check the area again and we are contacting the customer who raised the issue and will keep them informed of progress.”