On 26th November 2021, the UK Met Office issued a rare red weather warning for an extra-tropical cyclone that had been named Storm Arwen. The storm was expected to mainly cause damage to coastal areas, though it also carried an amber wind warning for the North East of England. Three people sadly died as a result of the storm, and 240,000 homes were left without power. My constituency of Hexham, which covers much of South and West Northumberland, was heavily impacted by the power cuts. Some of my constituents were without power for eleven days and others were without water for four days.
I organised a series of public meetings in the wake of Storm Arwen. Residents had the opportunity to hear from representatives from Northern Powergrid, Northumbrian Water, Northumberland County Council, and other relevant organisations.
These meetings were set up to get my constituents the answers that they deserve. Residents had the opportunity to feedback directly to NPG about their individual experiences and to provide suggestions and thoughts on how the response can be improved and how the network can be made more resilient, in preparation for the next severe weather event. The meetings were held in Ponteland, Bellingham, Hexham and Allendale. The meetings were all live streamed and are available to view on my YouTube Channel.