SSEN Transmission teams lend helping hand to Wick community

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  • Projects teams have donated life-saving defibrillator equipment to local bowling club, cleared over 600m of path around town and funded kids active-schools classes during October holidays

SSEN Transmission teams working on the development of the new Noss Head Switching Station have been reaching out and providing a helping-hand to the community in Wick in recent weeks.

The SSEN Transmission project team, Principal Contractor BAM Nuttall and their Sub-Contractors have been working closely with the local community not just to keep them updated with progress on the substation development, but to make sure they give something back to the local area. 

Project teams donated and arranged installation of a new defibrillator to the popular Rosebank Bowling club, providing potentially life-saving equipment should someone take ill. 

The British Heart Foundation states that when someone goes into cardiac arrest, every minute that passes without CPR and defibrillation reduces their chance of survival by 10%, so having this vital equipment located at such a popular club in the community will hopefully give local residents peace of mind and has the potential to save lives.

In early October, three members from sub-contractor Global Infrastructure worked to clear-up over 600m of overgrown path from the bridge at the bottom of Newton Hill to the top, providing a safer walking link for the community and helping to reconnect the popular link route around the outskirts of the town.  Project teams had reached out to Wick Paths Group to identify where they could direct resource to help tidy up the area, and Global Project Manager Alan Chalmers arranged for a team to spring into action working through high winds and heavy rain to get the job done. 

During the recent October school holidays, over 200 local children benefitted from an active-schools programme of activities which were funded by SSEN Transmission at Wick High School.  Karate taster sessions, multi-sport days and football camps were all organised through Wick Active Schools, meaning children were free to attend the events held during the October holidays.  Refreshments were also donated by Tesco which helped keep the kids fuelled during the karate sessions.  As a lasting legacy, SSEN Transmission also donated new karate equipment to help ensure the local karate club and any new karate enthusiasts can keep training beyond October’s taster sessions. 

SSEN Transmission Construction Manager Andrew Henderson said: 

“As a responsible developer we’re keen to support the community in which we work as well as keep them informed as the project progresses.

“We have a real opportunity to help deliver some positive community projects which would be a real benefit to the community at Wick – and we’re so pleased we’re able to help out and get involved.

“Together with our Principle Contractor BAM Nuttall and their sub-contractor Global Infrastructure, we’ve managed to deliver potential life-saving de-fib equipment to the popular Rosebank Bowling Club in the town, clear pathways to reconnect a popular walking link around Wick as well as cover the costs of kids sports clubs during the school holidays – all contributing to a positive impact in Wick and surrounding areas.  It’s been a real team effort with staff from across the site getting involved.”

John Bogle, secretary of the Wick Paths Group said:

 "We are delighted that teams from SSEN Transmission and sub-contractors Global Infrastructure were able to widen the path from the town boundary up to Newton Hill. This path is well used by residents of Newton Hill but it also forms part of a popular walking and running route from the town.  It has now been cleared back to its original width and can once again accommodate prams and people walking 2-abreast. These improvements will benefit a great many people.

“The Paths Group is very grateful to our volunteers and also to the many local businesses who help us."

Last month members of Wick Community Council visited the site to see for themselves the progress being made at the development, with 11 local apprentices visiting from Rolls Royce at Vulcan also invited to see the construction of the new project.

SSEN Transmission’s Andrew Henderson continued:

“Having some of the community council members down to visit the site was a great way for us to show them first-hand the huge amount of work which has gone into the project so far, and we look forward to welcoming them back along with members of Sinclair Bay Community Council and local councillors in the new year to show them how far work has progressed.  We always want to support and encourage the next generation of engineers and construction workers, so it was great for us to host apprentices from the nearby Rolls Royce Vulcan site for a day and show them the work we’ve been carrying out so far, as well as give them an idea of what is to come. 

“As ever we thank the local community for their continued patience and support while we progress with the switching station development here at Noss Head, and we’ll work to keep them informed as the project continues.”

Work on the development of Noss Head Switching Station is making good progress, with teams recently completing the steelwork structure and work now underway on the concrete floors and installation of roof and wall cladding.  Once complete the new switching station will serve as a key component in the proposed HVDC subsea cable from Shetland, connecting the island to the main National Grid for the first time. 

To read more about the project visit: Caithness HVDC Switching Station (ssen-transmission.co.uk)