- Ageing 1960s gas main being renewed in Nottingham Road
- Contra-flow in place to keep staff and drivers safe
- New pipes will keep local homes and businesses safe and warm for the rest of the century
The Beatles were topping the charts and mini-skirts were all the rage when new gas pipes were laid in Nottingham’s Nottingham Road. But now they are showing their age and are up for a £300,000 renewal programme.
Starting on Monday 8 April, local gas company Cadent will be upgrading ageing cast iron gas mains, the size of a tractor tyre. They will be replaced with tough, modern plastic pipes that will last until the end of the century.
With eighty per cent of local homes are heated by gas, the work will ensure they stay safe and warm for decades to come.
The work is expected to take up to eight weeks along a stretch of Nottingham Road close to Basford Cemetery. To keep staff and motorists safe while the work is underway the following measures will be in place:
- Contra-flow in Nottingham Road for about 300 metres
- No access from Perry Road into Nottingham Road. However, drivers will still be able to drive into Perry Road from Nottingham Road.
Cadent will be replacing 1960s cast iron gas mains the size of a tractor tyre with tough new plastic pipes that will last at least 80 years. The new pipes will ensure local people continue to enjoy safe and reliable gas supplies for cooking and heating until the end of the century.
Cadent Authorising Engineer Paul Patrick said: “We are investing in the future of Nottingham’s gas network so local residents can stay safe and warm for decades to come.
“We’ll do our best to complete the work as soon as possible and to minimise any disruption. This is a busy road, though, so we would advise people to leave extra time for their journeys, especially during rush hour.
“Once the new pipes are in the ground we won’t need to come back and renew them for 80 years.”
If anyone has any enquiries about this work they should contact Cadent’s customer services team on
0800 096 5678. Find out more about
how Cadent replaces gas mains and how that affects residents and businesses.
Ten fab facts about Sixties Nottingham
While new gas mains were transforming the city underground, overground Nottingham was undergoing revolutionary change in the1960s. Here are ten fab facts about Sixties Nottingham:
- A landmark obscenity trial in 1960 ruled that Nottinghamshire author DH Lawrence’s classic novel ‘Lady Chatterley’s Lover’ could be legally published in Britain. The verdict opened the door to greater freedom for publishers.
- Medicine shelf standby Ibuprofen was invented by Dr Stewart Adams in Nottingham in 1961 while working for leading, Nottingham-based pharmacy Boots UK.
- In 1963 Nottingham’s Maid Marian dual carriage-way opened.
- The first home video recorder, the Telcan, was invented in 1963 by Nottingham Electronic Valve Company.
- Nottingham hosted some of the greatest names in rock and pop. The Beatles played the Elizabeth Ballroom in 1963, while later in the decade Jimi Hendrix, Curtis Mayfield and Led Zeppelin were among the stars to grace the Boat Club.
- Designed by Festival Hall architect Peter Moro, the Nottingham Playhouse was built in 1963. It won a Civic Trust Award in 1965 and was made a Grade II listed building in 1996.
- BBC Radio Nottingham hosted the UK’s first radio phone-in in 1968
- Nottingham-born drummer Ian Paice co-founded legendary rockers Deep Purple in 1968.
- Nottingham prog rock forerunners ‘Ten Years After’ play the iconic Woodstock Festival in 1969
- During the 1960s Nottingham built international links across Europe, twinning with Ljubljana in Slovenia, Minsk in Belarus and Karlsruhe in Germany. In the 1990s, the City Council consulted experts from Karlsruhe when considering installing a tram network.
ENDS