- Gas network Cadent nearing end of a project to replace underground pipe that’s brought gas to homes in Ramsbottom for 140 years
- Old metallic pipe showing signs of its age replaced with new, durable pipe that will ensure safety and keep energy flowing for many generations
- Work timed for summer holiday period in effort to minimise disruption and to avoid clash with World Black Pudding Throwing Championships
This unassuming piece of engineering unearthed in Ramsbottom, Lancashire, has been an essential part of local life since the reign of Queen Victoria. It’s delivered gas to the local area for nearly 140 years – originally (mainly) for lighting, then later for keeping people warm and for cooking meals.
But it had more recently started to show signs of its age, prompting local gas network Cadent to programme it in for an essential upgrade. Teams arrived on site in July to begin work to replace 450 metres of ageing pipe under Bolton Street.
They remain on track to leave site as planned at the end of next week (w/c 3 September), with the new pipe in place under the road, all commissioned and transporting gas to thousands of homes across the local area.
Cadent and its contractor Balfour Beatty worked closely with Bury Council, scheduling the work when likely to cause least disruption (mostly in school holidays), as this road is a very busy route for local traffic and commuters.
“We’ve also had the
World Black Pudding Throwing Championships firmly in our sights!” explained project manager Jimmy Byron. “We’ll definitely be off site in time for that to happen and have the roads clear for all visitors.”
Jimmy added: “These jobs, while necessary to ensure safe gas supplies locally, inevitably cause some level of disruption, as the pipes sit directly under the roads.
“As you can see, we’ve been replacing a very old pipe with a new one that will keep gas flowing for many generations, until at least the end of the century. We’re very grateful for everyone’s patience and understanding.”
The work in Bolton Street is part of a programme to upgrade metallic gas mains across the UK. Every year Cadent replaces hundreds of kilometres of pipes in the North West region, to ensure a safe, reliable ‘on demand’ supply of gas.
Cadent is the UK’s biggest gas network. It maintains and upgrades a network of more than 130,000km of pipes from London to the Lake District, including around 34,000km in the North West. If placed end-to-end, that amount would stretch from Lancashire to Sydney, and back again.
www.bettergaspipes.co.uk
The World Black Pudding Throwing Championships started in the 1980s and are held in Ramsbottom every second Sunday in September.
Competitors stand on a golden grid and get three attempts to knock as many Yorkshire puddings as possible off a plinth, by throwing black puddings at them.
According to the Manchester Evening News, the event is said to date from the War of the Roses, when local legend says the two opposing armies ran out of ammunition. The Yorkshire army is said to have instead hurled Yorkshire puddings at its enemy, with the Lancashire troops returning fire with black puddings.