£150K upgrade to Wetherby gas distribution network starting early in new year

PRESS RELEASE ISSUED ON BEHALF OF NORTHERN GAS NETWORKS (NGN)

The north of England’s gas distributer, Northern Gas Networks (NGN), is investing £150,000 to upgrade the ageing metal gas distribution network in Westgate, Church Street and Bank Street, Wetherby.

The major project is part of NGN’s ongoing development of infrastructure in the area and will involve replacing 600m of existing metal gas mains with more durable plastic pipes, to ensure the continued safe and reliable supply of gas to customers in the area for years to come.

The project, which will begin on Monday 9 January and last around nine weeks, has been planned in conjunction with Leeds City Council to ensure all works are completed with as little disruption as possible.

The work will be carried out in the following phases.

Phase One will begin on Westgate on Monday 9 January and last around four weeks.

During this phase, three-way temporary traffic lights will be placed on Westgate between Spofforth Hill and Crossley Street from Monday 9 January for around one week, manually operated between 6.30am and 7pm.

Bus stops located within the lights will be temporarily suspended and moved towards the Spofforth Hill roundabout.

From Monday 16 January, a one-way road closure will be introduced on Westgate affecting inbound traffic travelling from Harrogate. For traffic travelling from Wetherby town centre, access to Crossley Street via Caxton Street will still be available or alternatively traffic can continue onto and around Spofforth Hill roundabout.

For traffic travelling towards Wetherby from Harrogate and Linton, an alternative diversion route will be in place via Crossley Street, St James Street, North Street, High Street and Market Place.

There will be no right-hand turn at the junction of Crossley Street and Westgate for traffic travelling towards Harrogate from Wetherby, however access to Crossley Street is available via Caxton Street or by continuing around Spofforth Hill Roundabout.

This road closure will be in place for around 10 days.

From Monday 23 January, two-way temporary traffic lights will be placed on Westgate between the junctions of Caxton Street and Bank Street. These lights are expected to be in place for two weeks as work progresses in 100m sections until complete, manually controlled between 6.30am and 7pm.

Phase Two will begin on Monday 6 February and last around three weeks. Throughout this time there will be a full road closure on Bank Street between 8am and 4pm. NGN’s Customer Care officers will be liaising closely with local businesses for delivery arrangements and are making arrangements for access to the church.

Phase Three will begin on Monday 27 February and last around two weeks. During this final phase there will be a road closure in place on The Shambles from Monday 27 February for one week. NGN will discuss access for deliveries with affected businesses in advance of the road closure.

There will also be a full road closure on Cross Street for one week from Monday 6 March, however access can be obtained via High Street and Market Place.

It’s expected that there will be some delays to bus services during the project, however all bus companies have been notified of the phases of works and will be kept informed throughout the project

Pedestrian access will be maintained at all times and NGN engineers will be working from Monday to Sunday between 8am and 6pm.

Russ Oxley, Construction Services Area Manager at Northern Gas Networks said: “We have been working closely with Leeds City Council to carefully plan the majority of these works in order to minimise any disruption to customers.

“We would like to apologise in advance for any inconvenience caused during these works, and thank our customers for their patience and support in getting them completed as quickly as possible.”

For further information about the project please contact NGN’s Customer Care team on 0800 040 7766, option 7 or email customercare@northerngas.co.uk

Anyone that smells gas or suspects Carbon Monoxide should call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999. This line is in operation 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.

ENDS

About Northern Gas Networks

Northern Gas Networks own all the gas mains in the North East, most of Yorkshire and northern Cumbria transporting gas to 2.7 million homes and businesses.

The network consists of 37,000km of gas mains, enough to stretch from Leeds to Sydney, Australia and back.

Our mains replacement programme will see 3,800km of old metal gas main replaced with modern plastic equivalents by 2021.

For more information please visit our website www.northerngasnetworks.co.uk

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You can contact Northern Gas Network’s press office on: 0113 3227950 during office hours (between 8.30am and 5pm, Monday – Friday, excluding Bank Holidays) or call the out of hours service on 0113 3227978 at any other time.

You can contact the Northern Gas Networks Customer Care team on 0800 040 7766, option 7.