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Customer CentreIf you have any immediate concerns you would like to discuss, you can call our customer care centre on at 0800 051 4431. We are open from 9.00am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday.
You can also email us any time at [email protected]
Cadent is investing over £1million into the gas network in Ipswich. The project commenced in June 2023 and will see us replace some 1.7km of existing metallic pipes, with new more durable plastic pipe. The new pipes will help reduce the amount of unplanned work to repair ageing gas pipes in the future and ensure a safe and reliable gas supply for the community, for many years to come.
We are maintaining and upgrading the gas network along Duke Street and Fore Street from Orwell Place to Wykes Bishop Street (just north of the roundabout with Holywells/Myrtle Road) and along Patteson Road. Other interconnecting local roads will be impacted and/or used as traffic diversions during works.
Start date: Monday 26th June 2023
Finish date: Late September 2024
Traffic management: Each phase involves traffic management - including full road closures and temporary suspension of bus stops and parking spaces where required. This is in order for our team to complete their work safely and to protect members of the public throughout the duration of the scheme. Access to homes and businesses will be maintained but may require following a minor diversion. All traffic management will be agreed with council’s Streetworks team, passenger services and Ipswich Buses before we start work.
Completed works
Phases 1&2: Works will take place from the Quayside (adjacent to Aurora), on Patteson Road, the east end of Cliff Road and John Street. There will be a road closure on Patteson Road with access for residents only. Road closures on parts of Cliff Road with access for residents via Toller Road off Holywells Road.
Phase 3a: Traffic management operation in Wykes Bishop Street with a road closure on John Street. Access for residents only for Maude Street and Anchor Street will be via Patterson Road.
Enabling works: Single lane closure on Coprolite Street. Partial width footpath closure with pedestrian access maintained outside Mehzan Restaurant on Duke Street. Partial width footpath closure with pedestrian access maintained at Sorrel Horse Mews on Grimwade Street. Short section of contraflow outside 81-83 Grimwade Street.
Phase 3b: Lane closure on Wykes Bishop Street
Phase 4a: Bus lane closure on Duke’s Street from junction with Wykes Bishop Street to Pownall Road.
Phase 4b: Directional lane closure on Duke Street from junction Pownall Road to junction Fore Street with southbound access only. Bus lane closure.
Phase 4c: Temporary lane closure under traffic light management on Backhamlet.
Upcoming works
Phase 5a (8 July to 2 August): Opencut final section of Duke Street circa 20m. Northbound lane closure from junction with Pownall Street. Closure will remain in place till 6 September
Phase 5b (8 to 14 July): Temporary removal of central reservation at Grimwade Street/Neptune Square junction to maintain access for residents and businesses. No carriageway incursion, weekend working.
Phase 5c (15 July to 23 August): Westbound lane closure for mains replacement from Neptune Square to Duke Street.
Phase 5d (5 August to 13 September): Mains replacement from Neptune Square to Salthouse Street.
Phase 5e (5 August to 13 September): Tie in main at junction Fore Street and Salthouse Street.
Each phase involves traffic management - including full road closures and temporary suspension of bus stops and parking spaces where required. All traffic management will be agreed with council’s Streetworks team and Ipswich Buses before we start work.
Route of pipeline replacement works
This work, involving replacing and upgrading ageing metal pipes with a more durable material, is essential to safeguarding the gas system – ensuring we continue to provide an efficient and reliable gas supply well into the future
In consultation and agreement with The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem), one of the key drivers for completing the upgrade during the regulatory period 2021-2025 is part of a wider business strategy to secure our customers’ future energy demands.
We will commence work on phase 1 and 2 of this project on 26 June 2023 in Quayside/Patteson Road area and John Street. Phases 3b and 4 are programmed for January-May 2024. Additional phases have been scheduled but are subject to confirmation. Our key focus will be engaging with you at every step of the way, keeping you informed of our progress. We are working towards a construction completion date in late summer 2024.
We are liaising closely with Ipswich Borough Council and expert consultants to plan our work. We will engage with affected stakeholders in advance to discuss our plans, so that we can deliver a scheme that considers the needs of local people and the environment.
The majority of the works on the gas main will not impact the gas supply to the community as almost all the properties in the area are fed off the gas main by Independent Gas Transporters (IGT) and these will be kept live as part of our gas operations. However, we have identified limited number of properties where there may be some disruption and we may need access to homes and businesses. Where this is the case, our teams will issue advance notices and be on site to keep the community informed.
We follow the requirements of the local authority set out in our planning conditions and government guidance relating to vehicle movements, cyclists, noise, pollution etc.
We are engaging across Ipswich Borough Council including local politicians, and officers in Housing and Communities, Maintenance and Contracts, Planning & Development and, of course, Highways and Environmental Health.
Most importantly, we’re engaging with the local communities that we are likely to impact. We will continue to liaise with relevant stakeholders throughout the project.
During our maintenance works, we use experienced and qualified contractors to carry out work on our behalf. We manage our contractors and monitor their performance closely.
Working hours are expected to be between 8am and 6pm on weekdays and 8am and 1pm on Saturdays (an hour either side of these times may be used for deliveries and setting up ready for works). If additional weekend or night working is necessary, we’ll agree this with the local authority, and write to local properties to let them know.
Our traffic management plan has considered the local area, road network and speed limits and is designed around avoiding residential areas wherever possible. Our plan has been designed to minimise disruption whilst we’re working on our sites.
All heavy vehicle deliveries will be scheduled and routed to avoid queues on local roads. We’ll make a passing point for vehicles in the site compound and access road, and we’ll install traffic signage at the proposed site entrance to keep access clear at all times.
Traffic management has been agreed with the local authority and we will communicate with the local community about our plan for minimising traffic impacts.
We aim to maintain access to business frontages and car parks wherever practicable and will inform both businesses and residents in the area, in advance of the time periods when this will not be the case.
As an essential infrastructure provider, Cadent has permitted development rights for gas transporters under Part 15 Class A of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 2015.
We are committed to working closely with the council and the community throughout the works.
