Taunton hospital electricity upgrade work due to start

Vital engineering work to improve power supplies to Taunton’s Musgrove Park Hospital will start in August and last four months.

Engineers will be laying new underground cable along College Way from 4 August onwards. More than 700 metres of the road will be affected, with work due to last until 28 November.

There will be a rolling road closure along College Way, with one section of road between junctions closed at any one time.

Residents will always have access to their properties, but some vehicle restrictions may apply. Access will also be maintained for a school, GP surgery and businesses off Pitts Close via diversions.

Work will affect part of Galmington Road near the junction with College Way too, with multi-way traffic lights in operation. Engineers will also be laying cables along part of the footpath that goes around Galmington Park.

Further related work will affect Hoveland Lane and Hoveland Crescent over the same period.

Lewis Smith, NGED’s head of operations for Somerset, said: “This is vital work to upgrade the electricity network connected to Musgrove Park Hospital to ensure the resilience and security of supplies for many years to come.

“We understand there is never an ideal time for work of this complexity and lengthy duration, and we will be doing all we can to minimise disruption as much as possible.”

Steven Power, head of acute capital delivery at Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, said: “This important work will provide Musgrove Park Hospital with two dedicated power supplies direct from National Grid, instead of the current arrangements via the high voltage supply to the Galmington residential area.

“By making this change, we are increasing our electrical capacity to support future site developments and decarbonisation projects. It will also increase our resilience by removing the power supply link to the residential area around the hospital.”

We will be holding a drop-in meeting tomorrow (22 July) at Comeytrowe Community centre between 6-8pm, where staff will be available to answer questions about the project.

Work timetable:

4-15 August: College Way between Queensway & Langham Drive

18-22 August: Junction of Hoveland Crescent with Galmington Road will be closed. Residents’ access will be via Galmington Lane.

18 Aug – 5 September: College Way between Langham Drive and Pitts Close

1-26 September: College Way from Pitts Close to Galmington Road

29 September – 24 October: Hoveland Crescent and Hoveland Lane

20 October – 14 November: Galmington Park

17-28 November: Final reinstatement works.