PROPOSED SHUTLANGER ROAD CLOSURE - ANGLIAN WATER

Proposed Shutlanger Road closure Background

Anglian Water are proposing to replace the water main between Shutlanger and Heathencote starting in early October. The current plan is to close Shutlanger Road for 5 months on a 24x7 basis in order to replace the water main. Anglian Water have a statutory duty to supply water (and we know the water main needs replacing) so we have to accept that statutory duty but at the same time deal with the huge inconveniences that such a closure would place on the villages of Stoke Bruerne and Shutlanger and the hamlet of Heathencote. You would, I hope, expect your respective Parish Councils to stand up to that plan as best they can. Well, we have. What have we done so far? The chairs of the Parish Councils of Paulerspury, Shutlanger and Stoke Bruerne got together very recently and sent a letter, signed by all three, to the Chief Executive of Anglian Water pointing out the huge challenges to everyday life such a closure would place on the villages. This is something that perhaps WNC Highways cannot do due to the statutory nature of Anglian Water's 'rights'. To his credit the Chief Executive of Anglian Water responded within five days (which includes a weekend). In response to our letter they commiserated over the effect such a closure would have on the villages and have offered a public meeting which we'll host in Shutlanger Village Hall on either Monday 8-July at 19:00 or Monday 15-July @ 19:00 to which you are all invited. It is important that this information is shared widely. We'll do our best to get it on the respective Parish Council websites and Notice Boards as well. We expect to have a confirmed date by 3-July. Our letter The letter the Parish Councils sent is in the attached document as is the Anglian Water reply (it's appended to the end of the Parish Council document). It is worth pointing out that the original letter to Anglian Water contained input, gratefully received, from the members of all three Parish Councils. The brief agenda for the meeting will be:

• Introductions
• A quick overview of what the Parish Councils have done
• A response from Anglian Water as to what is planned and how they will address our concerns
• Question time

We would ask that attendees maintain their dignity when discussing the closure with Anglian Water despite the hugely adverse effect it may have on them. We all need to maintain an open communication with Anglian Water for the period running up to and during the water main replacement. Anglian Water have also offered to run drop-in sessions for those unable to attend the meeting on 8-July (or 15-July). The current proposal is to run those at the same time as the usual Shutlanger Village Hall coffee mornings which are on the third Thursday of each month between 10:00 and 12:00. We are sure we can run them more frequently if there is a need. What is our aim?

• We want everyone to be aware of what is happening and how to contact the team undertaking the work.
• We want Anglian Water to review their proposal as regards access along Shutlanger Road. We feel they need to investigate other ways of replacing the main without the need for the 24x7 5-month closure.
• We'd like to see a fortnightly update on their progress which we can publish for everyone to see.

The letter to Anglian Water and their response is attached to this document; we have redacted some personal information from the document. Sandy Sawyer | Peter Newson | Kathryn Dodington