Christmas has been saved in Ramsgate after persistent efforts have resulted in the festive lights being fixed.
A last ditch appeal was made this week for action to fix an electricity supply fault which meant the lights had only been on during two occasions – the official switch on in November and the late night shopping event this month.
Ramsgate Town Council paid for a generator to supply the power on both events. Despite reporting the issue and chasing it up on a weekly basis the fault remained.
RTC’s town clerk Laura Fidler said Kent County Council had worked hard but were unable to find the fault and the matter was then reported to UK Power Network.
County Councillor Karen Constantine then made a last ditch attempt to get the issue fixed by contacting KCC leader Roger Gough on Wednesday to see if a solution could be found.
Cllr Gough took steps to try and resolve the issue and UK Power Networks were on site yesterday and today.
RTC technician Chris Barton added: “As soon as they finished replacing the cable they allowed us access to site. Reconnected our system back to the mains, that had been isolated due to running the system from a generator, and light was restored at 12.30pm.”
Cllr Constantine said: “I am absolutely thrilled that the lights in Ramsgate Harbour Street have now been switched on.
“I’ve spent the past few days contacting Cllr Roger Gough, Conservative leader of Kent County Council, to express my dissatisfaction that the Christmas lights were not on due to an issue with UK Power Network. I have, in no uncertain terms, explained that this is simply not good enough, and that I don’t believe this situation would’ve been allowed elsewhere in the leafy suburbs of Kent.
“This morning I again wrote to Cllr Gough to insist that he contact UKPN to try again to get them to come out to identify the fault and fix it. This is important to both the residents of Ramsgate but also to the local businesses, who need every bit of trade they can get.
“I’d like to thank Roger Gough for using his office to add pressure to get these works satisfactorily completed. I will be looking very closely at the contract for this work in the early New Year. Enjoy the lights.”
Ramsgate Town Council has announced that the New Year’s Eve firework display is scheduled to go ahead. The display, at midnight, will be visible from the harbour and both West and East cliffs.
There is a warning that bad weather or new covid restrictions may result in cancellation
