Emergency works are taking place in Kendal after leaks were discovered on the main pipe that feeds gas to heat the town’s homes.
Cadent, which manages the local gas network, has responded after a smell of gas was reported in the area.
Its teams have found two possible sources of this smell. Both are from a pipe that runs 1.4 metres below the road surface.
Engineers are monitoring readings and are satisfied that there is no risk to nearby properties, or to gas continuing to flow.
But the pipe needs to be repaired urgently. This means working in the road, which is causing significant traffic issues locally.
The work started on Wednesday and is expected to continue into next week. Teams will work through the weekend to fix it.
Kevin Thompson, Cadent’s Customer Operations Area Manager, said: “Our priority here is keeping everyone safe and keeping gas flowing to heat homes. We’ve taken action to ensure that and are now working to locate the leaks and get them repaired. Often, you find these are small leaks and can be very difficult to find quickly.
“This is causing traffic issues – as we have had to set up traffic lights to manage a safe flow of vehicles around the big excavations we have needed to dig in the road. We have teams ready to work through the weekend on this, working as quickly and as safely as we can to reopen the road fully. We appreciate everyone’s patience.”
If you smell gas
If you smell gas during this work, nearby or anywhere, always ring the national gas emergency service immediately, day or night, on 0800 111 999*. Do not delay, or assume it’s related to this work. It may not be and must be checked.
Cadent in the North West
Cadent operates four of the UK’s eight gas distribution networks – North West England, West Midlands, Eastern England and North London.
Its North West network stretches from the Lake District to Crewe and is home to 21,000 miles of distribution pipes (most of them underground) and hundreds of above ground installations. If placed end to end, that amount of pipes would stretch from Cumbria to Sydney, Australia, and back again.
Around £800m will be invested in the North West’s gas network over the next five years. This will maintain safe, secure supplies to homes, hospitals, schools, offices and other sites, as well as support the UK journey to net zero carbon emissions.
Backed by Cadent and many partners, the North West region is set to lead the way in a major shift from fossil gases to hydrogen. Producing only heat and water at point of use, hydrogen is key to the UK’s net zero future and is set to be introduced at volume in the North West during the 2020s (see
www.hynet.co.uk).