The excavations along Stan’s Walk are being undertaken by a contractor called Compass on behalf of UK Power Networks.The work is to install two 11,000V circuits between Watton and Griston to reinforce the power supply to HMP Wayland for the new cell and kitchen blocks. Two teams are orking on it, one coming from the Griston end and the other from Watton.

​The trench will run along the length of Stan’s Walk on one side; as Griston Parish Council our interest is in only our end, butit’s possible that some of capacity no longer used by the airfield is still available from the ‘Old Griston Road’ sub station just past the gate.

​The work is scheduled on the permit to last until 14 February; the teams are set a target of 100m a week. The trench isbackfilled using largely the material that is dug out.

The area through the mature trees at the Griston end will be hand dug to protect the roots. Exposed roots are covered with wet sacking to protect them. The contractor will return on the spring to seed the entire trench with grass seed; there’s no sense in seeding while it’s cold and won’t germinate.

This ​work is just reinforcement of the network to make sure the prison continues to have sufficient power; it’s not for any phantom new housing estate or other frightening development. Wates and the MoJ expect to submit their planning application for the building work in the coming weeks.

​The Norfolk County Council street works permit is searchable online using the interactive map at https://one.network/uk/Norfolk (see extract above).

If you want to know what’s happening, we recommend you stop and speak to the guys doing the work. A friendly enquiry will be met with a explanation as they’re happy to talk about their work and keep the public informed.

​We understand cake is well received too!