I was delighted to visit the newly restored Bilsdale mast and meet local staff working on the site. Project Restore was a real local success story and returned signal to the area by building two interim masts to provide signal prior to the completion of new permanent replacement. The new permanent mast was built in half the typical time expect for a project of its nature. I was in regular contact with Arqiva and the team during the restoration and know how hard they worked to get this delivered for residents in a timely manner, as well as responding to my constituents' individuals cases and concerns .
Project Restore statistics include:
• More than 25,000 calls to Project Restore helpline
• More than 7,000 engineer visits to households
• 16 relay sites put in place across the region
• Circa £200,000 donated to regional charities and good causes to support those impacted
It was also interesting to discuss the alternative applications for the UK’s broadcast network, namely its role in smart metering. TV transmitters act as hubs for electricity and gas smart metering, receiving signals sent from people’s homes and recording their usage, allowing them to reduce use, and allowing water companies to identify and stop leaks.
If any constituents have ongoing or new issues with their TV signal around the Bilsdale mast area (pictured in second slide), please do contact my office who can assist you.
