■ Essential gas mains renewal to start in Smith Street, Warwick
■ Coronavirus precautions will be in place
■ Smith Street to be closed to traffic for six weeks while work is underway
Warwickshire gas distributor Cadent will be starting essential work on Monday (11 May) in Smith Street, Warwick, to maintain gas supplies to local homes and businesses.
Engineers will be replacing 200 metres of ageing iron gas mains with tough, hard-wearing plastic pipe that will last until at least the end of the century.
The work is due to take six weeks. To keep drivers safe during this project, Smith Street will be closed to through traffic and parking bays suspended.
The safety and well-being of customers and colleagues is Cadent’s number one priority. In line with Government guidance, coronavirus precautions will be maintained throughout this work and engineers will observe social distancing.
Some work may be required in business properties, in agreement with the business owner or manager. In these cases, engineers will wear protective clothing. To maintain social distancing, they will ask anyone else in the building to remain in a separate room while they complete the work and they will sanitise the work area afterwards.
This phase of the work will not require engineers to enter anyone’s homes. We will need to return at a future date, when lockdown restrictions have been eased or lifted, to complete gas connections. However, we will inform people beforehand and engineers will take all necessary precautions if any are needed at that time. This phase of the work will not require a road closure.
Craig Horrocks, who heads up Cadent’s gas mains replacement programme in Warwickshire, said: “This is essential work that must be done this year and will require Smith Street to be closed to traffic.
“Having discussed this carefully with Warwickshire County Council, we felt it would be sensible to carry out this work during the Covid-19 restrictions, when there would be least impact on local businesses and on the traffic network.
“The safety and well-being of customers and colleagues is Cadent’s top priority. Coronavirus precautions will be maintained throughout this work and colleagues will observe social distancing. Every effort will be made to complete this project as soon as possible.”
If anyone has any questions about this work, they should contact the customer service team on 0161 703 1010 / 1110.