This may seem a trivial matter but when you have several curb side bedrooms which are only inches from the road then it can become a serious issue and have a major impact on any business or home.
During the summer (2015) there was a loose manhole cover on Cross Street that was making a loud clanking noise when cars drove over it. It was even worse at night when people were trying to sleep. It got progressively worse and customers complained of the noise throughout the night (and rightly so). Our section of Cross Street is a 20mph zone which is of course never adhered to…
It was fast becoming Nightmares on Cross Street rather than a peaceful village haven.
I called the local council and logged it online via Street Doctor. After several emails and phone calls it transpired that it was an Anglian Water man hole. I naively thought it would then be fixed within a few days. Although Anglian Water said that they were willing to come and fix it, they in turn had to ask for permission from the council to dig the road and it could possibly take 3 months to get the permit!!
After much toing and froing, I eventually got in contact with a very helpful man at the Anglian Water Repairs Team – Jim, who was just as frustrated as me at the long wait. He put a temporary fix on the rogue manhole and did his utmost to get the permit brought forward. I am not sure how Jim felt about me getting his mobile number but a few weeks later Jim received the permit and sent his crack team to Cross Street.
The team of three men came after dinner one evening and apart from a few minutes of drilling to remove the old cover it was done and dusted in a swift professional fashion. I am not sure if my trays of coffee and biscuits helped but the men were good humoured and got the job done within a few hours.
So a huge ‘Thank You’ to Jim and his team of friendly and super-efficient men who came out and put a brand new and most importantly ‘Silent’ manhole on Cross Street.
