A specialist technique likened to ‘keyhole surgery’ will be used to mend a leak on a gas main in Marple, Stockport – shaving days off the work and minimising disruption.
Cadent, which looks after the local gas network, will be working in Arkwright Road from Tuesday (30th May), to carry out a repair on one of its underground pipes.
It will be deploying one of its specialist keyhole teams, who will core out a small hole to enable them to work on the pipe without needing to dig a much larger excavation.
Cadent has also collaborated with BT Openreach, so that the telecoms company can carry out unrelated but necessary works in the same roadworks at the same time.
The work is taking place outside Brabyns Preparatory School. Arkwright Road stays open, with traffic lights controlling the flow of vehicles around the work area.
Cadent liaised with Stockport Council to carry out the works during the school holidays, to minimise disruption, in particular to the school.
“We first became aware of the leak after a smell of gas was reported in to us,” explained Trevor Lubbock, Cadent’s Customer Operations Area Manager.
“We made sure everything was safe and then worked up a plan, in collaboration with the council and BT Openreach, to do the essential work with least disruption.
“Our keyhole team will be on site from Tuesday, and we will work hard to be on and off-site within days. Keyhole isn’t suitable for all jobs, but in this case it is.
“We core out a small piece of the road, work on the repair and then re-insert the same piece of road, so that you’d hardly notice we’d even been there. Gas will remain on, so there should be no disruption to any supply in the local area.”
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 is 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, including the network for North West England.
This 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 they were in a straight line, they would reach Australia, and come 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 soon.