Anger as village of Beetley has 7 power cuts in 10 months

Winitra Krud-In, owner of The New Inn restaurant in Beetley, near Dereham, said the restaurant is losing between £2000 to £3000 every time the power is lost, missing out on trade and having to throw stock away from the fridge and freezer.

Winitra Krud-In and Ammarin Thapthongdi, owners of The New Inn, Beetley (Image: Submitted)

“I’m so annoyed because people pre-book takeaways, we have customers sat inside, and we lose all that trade,” she said.

“We feel bad for customers because we cannot cook for them and they have to go home empty-handed.”

In an email to Roger Atterwill, Breckland councillor for Beetley, Michael Horwood, public affairs manager at UK Power Networks, said his team was looking at options to improve the reliability of the network in the village and reduce the likelihood and length of power cuts.

Power lines outside The New Inn, on Fakenham Road, in Beetley (Image: Google Maps)

Mr Horwood said the power cuts are being caused by a “number of issues in a number of locations - requiring planned work to address the issues.”

He also confirmed proactive tree-cutting work and it will replace the conductors of the electricity cables in the area in the week commencing November 13.

UK Power Network website states that if fewer than 5,000 homes are affected, people will get £90 if the power is off for 12 hours and an additional £40 for every 12 hours after that.

Chloe Cumbers and Ali Howard in Inspire Unisex Hair and Design (Image: Sophie Jean Photography)

But that doesn’t replace the money for Chloe Cumbers, and Ali Howard, co-owners of Inspire Unisex Hair Design in Beetley. The pair said they lose on average between £700 to £800 on days suffering from power cuts.

“We’ve had it happen mid-hair cut, we then have to reorganise around 30 people a day to fit back in,” the duo said.

“It’s very frustrating, we’re lucky that we have some loyal customers, but it can annoy people who need it done there and then.

“If we can fit people back in that's great, but we're still missing out on that money you would have earned that day. The staff are self-employed so it's affecting their business, they rely on their full days' work and all their clients.”

Roger Atterwill, Leader of the Independent & Green Group (Image: Breckland District Council)

Mr Atterwill added: “I hope they do this work and it makes a difference, if not we will be holding their feet to the fire as we will want more upgrade work carried out if this does not solve it.”