A Shropshire parish council has discovered that it has been responsible for street lighting more than 50 miles away for seven years due to an administration blunder.But the long-running fiasco is now set to be ended after red-faced bosses at power giant e.on said they would finally be rectifying the mix-up.
Sue Hackett, clerk of Condover Parish Council, near Shrewsbury, has received letters from energy supplier e.on suggesting it is responsible for lamps in Shifnal, which is 20 miles away, and even some in Halesowen.
Mrs Hackett said the company was not demanding money but the issue had, up to now, been unresolved.
“The problem goes back to 2001 before I took over as clerk,” she said. “It’s very frustrating.”
She said she thought the error stemmed from a problem with e.on’s records which had the previous parish clerk registered as being the contact person for a company which she presumed was responsible for the lights.
A spokesman for e.on said the mix-up had arisen after the council’s former clerk Dennis Palmer wrote to the company to inform them that he was leaving and would be replaced by Mrs Hackett.
But the company mistakenly thought Mrs Hackett was also taking over Mr Palmer’s role with a housing association in Halesowen.
The company’s records have now been updated and the energy firm has now issued an apology.
The spokesman said: “It is our job to keep people’s lights on but I’m happy to say we are not billing the people of Condover for the street lighting.”
But Mrs Hackett said she was baffled that it had taken so long to resolve.
One Comment
Halesowen isn’t in Birmingham.
It comes under the auspices of Dudley, being part of the Black Country and outside of Birmingham. It was formerly part of Worcestershire.
A couple of centuries ago it was actually part of Shropshire, as old maps of the county show. Perhaps Eon need to get themselves a sat nav?