From summer of love to summer gas upgrade: Nottingham’s ‘60s gas mains get a 21st century facelift

in your area

  • Ageing 1960s gas mains being renewed in A6200 Derby Road in summer holidays
  • Lane closures for safety
  • New pipes will keep local homes and businesses safe and warm for the rest of the century
 
The Beatles rocked Nottingham and mini-skirts were all the rage when new gas mains were laid in the city’s Derby Road. But more than half a century later the iron pipes are showing their age and are set for a major upgrade.

Local gas network Cadent will be renewing 340 metres of ageing gas mains in A6200 Derby Road, between Faraday Road and Lenton Boulevard. Work starts on 27 July and is due to be finished by 3 September.

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.

To keep staff and road-users safe during the work, there will need to be lane closures on Derby Road, between Triumph Road and Lenton Boulevard. The bus lanes will be suspended and there will be one lane open for traffic heading into the city and one lane for outbound traffic.

The junction of Faraday Road and Derby Road will be closed during the work. A diversion route will be in place via Faraday Road, Ilkeston Road and Lenton Boulevard.

Staff will be working seven days a week, including 12-hour shifts during weekdays, to complete the work as quickly as possible.

Cadent Authorising Engineer Paul Patrick said: “The existing gas mains have been in the ground for more than half a century and are getting old. We need to dig down and replace them.
 
“We are investing more than £100 million renewing gas mains across the East of England.  These new gas pipes will keep Nottingham homes warm and local businesses thriving for decades to come.
 
“This is a very busy stretch of road and we’ll do all we can to minimise disruption. We’ve planned the work for the summer holidays when traffic is lighter, and our teams will be working seven days a week. Once we’ve installed the new pipes we won’t need to come back and renew them until at least the end of the century.”
 
The project is part of a major revamp of ageing gas mains across the East Midlands and East Anglia during 2018-19. Cadent is aiming to replace more than 400 kms in East Midlands alone, including nearly 100kms in Nottinghamshire.
 
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.

Cadent

Cadent is the UK’s largest gas distribution network with a 200-year legacy.  We are in a unique position to build on strong foundations whilst encouraging the curiosity to think differently and the courage to embrace change.  Day to day we continue to operate, maintain and innovate the UK’s largest gas network, transporting gas safely and protecting people in an emergency.   Our skilled engineers and specialists remain committed to the communities we serve, working day and night to ensure gas reaches 11 million homes from Cumbria to North London and the Welsh Borders to East Anglia, to keep your energy flowing. 

Future of Gas: Here at Cadent we support the Government’s plans to reach Net Zero by 2050. That means we’re backing the introduction of hydrogen as a low carbon alternative to natural gas for the future. We know people love the controllability of gas and, with our network already in place, it makes sense to switch to the lower carbon alternative offered by hydrogen, which we believe can keep homes and businesses warm for generations to come.

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Media contacts

Rebecca Wright

rebecca.wright1@cadentgas.com

07899 983792