by Trevor Bevins, Local Democracy Reporter.
Dorset Council have responded to criticism from a resident who was, along with others, evacuated from their homes following a gas leak in Dorchester on Monday morning.
A total of 31 properties in Fordington High Street and Holloway Road had to leave their homes while SGN engineers dealt with a significant gas leak under the road.
The first call about the gas escape came at 6.30am on Monday morning, with police and fire services on the scene two hours later.
Among those who had to leave their homes were two families with newborn children.
Most of those who left were put up with family and friends with the majority able to return on Tuesday, although by that evening a small number were still unable to go back home as tests continued to ensure their properties were clear of gas.
Many of the homes were without electricity through the emergency.
One resident says that communication with residents was poor with delays to decisions about whether they could return following meetings at 3pm and 6pm on Tuesday – not relayed to residents until much later.
Said a Dorset Council spokesperson in response to the criticisms:
“We worked alongside partner organisations to support Southern Gas Network (SGN), which led the response to a gas leak in Fordington, Dorchester, on Monday 29 June. Our local authority liaison officer was on site from 11am to 8.30pm. They worked with emergency partners and checked whether any evacuated residents needed help. Most people were able to stay with friends or family. At 4.30pm, we opened a rest centre as a precaution. From experience, the longer an incident continues, the more likely it is that people will need somewhere to stay.
“We shared the location on social media and directed residents there where needed. We also shared Dorset Council’s out-of-hours phone number on social media. This gave residents another way to get updates if they could not contact SGN directly, and we offered support where we could.“The rest centre closed at 8.30pm as it was no longer needed. At that time, SGN advised the council that residents were likely to return home soon. SGN also confirmed they would contact residents directly if that changed.”
View the item about the original complaint here: Gas leak help ‘mishandled’ claims resident
