Update - Friday 22 September 2023
The final phase of the project is on track and all works are still planned to be completed by Sunday 24th September.
The last section of reinstatement is being completed in preparation to remove all traffic management on site. Following that, Southend Road, Hill Avenue and Spinney Close will all be complete and site clear in regards to engineering works, reinstatement and traffic management.
All signage, lighting and guarding located behind the shops will be cleared as soon as possible. Please note, they will not affect traffic flow.
We would like to thank our customers and the local community for your patience during these works.
This project will be delivered in a number of phases. If the phases do change we will keep you informed as quickly as possible.
Southend Road - Project start date
Vista Road section – 20th Feb 2023 – April 2023 - COMPLETE
Full length of Vista Road to Jack Close
Southend Road section – 10th April 2023 – Sept 2023
Phase 1 to Phase 12 – April 2023 – 21st July
Phase 1 - 3 weeks - COMPLETE
Starting 10 April at the railway bridge and up to junction Hawkins Close and Cherry Lane. Due to the location of the existing gas pipe in this section, we will need to dig excavations on both sides of the footway.
During this period a safe walkway will be signposted for pedestrians to use.
Phase 2 - 3 weeks - COMPLETE
From the junction of Hawkins Close to junction of Monarch Close.
Phase 3 - 4 weeks - COMPLETE
From the junction of Monarch Close to the junction of Vista Road.
Phase 4 - 4 weeks - COMPLETE
From the junction of Vista Road to outside 158 Southend Road.
Phase 5 - 2 weeks - COMPLETE
From outside 158 Southend Road to opposite the junction of Highcliffe Road.
Phase 6 - 2 weeks - COMPLETE
From opposite Highcliffe Road to opposite 127 Southend Road.
Phase 7 - 4 weeks - COMPLETE
From opposite 127 Southend Road to outside 118 Southend Road.
Phase 8 - 2 weeks - COMPLETE
From opposite 118 Southend Road to outside 127 Southend Road.
Phase 9 - 2.5 weeks - COMPLETE – we have managed to combine phases 9 and 10 together to make the delivery of these phases more efficient – both phases are now expected to take 2.5 weeks combined.
From outside 127 Southend Road to outside 2 Highcliffe Road.
Phase 10 - 2.5 weeks – COMPLETE – we have managed to combine phase 9 and 10 together to make the delivery of these phases more efficient – both phases are now expected to take 2.5 weeks combined.
From outside 2 Highcliffe Road to outside 155 Southend Road.
Phase 11 - COMPLETE
Due to complete: Friday 7 July – Phase 11 and 12 will be combined together to make the delivery of these phases more efficient – both phases are now expected to be completed Friday 7 July, all traffic management will be removed from Southend Road by the afternoon of Monday 10 July.
From outside 169 Southend Road to outside 185 Southend Road.
Phase 12 – COMPLETE
Due to complete: Friday 7 July - Phase 11 and 12 will be combined together to make the delivery of these phases more efficient – both phases are now expected to be completed Friday 7 July.
From outside 185 Southend Road to opposite Hawkins Close.
Additional phases
Additional phases of work on Spinny Close will begin Monday 10 July. No traffic management is required.
There is a further phase to complete in Hill Avenue and Spinney Close, which will begin where the gas pipe will be left in Phase 11 and continue up to the junction and including the entire length Spinney Close.
24th July 2023 – 4th Sept 2023 (school summer holidays)
Southend Road from outside Wickford Church into Mount Road – this will include a closure on exits of Mount Road and Wick Lane on to Southend Road to allow us access to the gas main teo complete our works.
Traffic management will be back onsite from 7am, Monday 24 July.
COMPLETE
Update - 31/07/23
This week 150m of the existing gas pipe was replaced on Southend Road.
Next week the team will be starting work outside St Katherines Church, working their way down towards property number 95.
Update 23/08/23
The team will be continued to work in Mount Road until Tuesday this week, this is due to delays during work at Wickford Church of England School. The road closure on Wick Lane has now been removed.
On Tuesday this week, work recommences on Southend Road, five-way temporary traffic lights will be installed at the junction with Hill Avenue and Vista Road.
We understand this will be disruptive for you and apologise in advance for the inconvenience. Please be assured we will be doing everything we can to minimise the impact of our work.
Update 25/08/2023
Works in Mount Road are now complete and the section will be reopen late Sunday afternoon.
Next week, the team plan to complete the last section of mains replacement required on Southend Road. Barring any unforeseen challenges, the works are planned to be complete by Thursday afternoon and all of the traffic management on Southend will be removed by Sunday evening (3rd September).
This will then leave approximately 60-70m of the existing pipe left to replace in Hill Avenue.
4th Sept 2023
Phase 13 - 2 weeks - COMPLETE
From outside 155 Southend Road to outside 169 Southend Road including 20m into Hill Avenue.
UPDATE - 8 September 2023
The team is continuing to work on the final phase of the project in Hill Avenue, close to the junction with Southend Road.
Following the start of the new school term earlier this week (5 September), traffic flow and the safety of pedestrians has been monitored.
As a result, we have deemed it prudent to change the traffic management for the safety of all and have subsequently agreed a road closure with the local Highway Authority.
The closure was set up today and will be in place on the junction of Hill Avenue and Spinney Close for approximately two weeks. This will keep the site safe for pedestrians and will also allow the traffic lights to be removed from Southend Road.
We are aiming to complete all work and have the site cleared by the end of Sunday 24 September.
Additional phases - COMPLETE
There is a further phase to complete in Hill Avenue and the entire length of Spinney Close.
These locations are approximate, final locations for excavations will be dependent on the exact location of the existing gas pipe.
If you have any immediate concerns you would like to discuss, you can call our customer care centre on 0800 085 4478. We are open from 8.00am to 8.00pm Monday to Friday, and from 9.00am to 4.00pm on Saturday.
You can also email us any time at CustomerCareLondon@cadentgas.com
How are you going to deliver the work?
Due to the nature of the work involved, we have planned to deliver it in a number of phases to maximise efficiency and minimise disruption.
What impact will our work have on the roads?
In order to deliver the work safely, a road closure will be in place during the first three phases of work.
We will let you know at each stage the traffic management required for each phase. This could also include traffic lines and lane closures.
Will my gas supply be affected?
For a short time, yes. The works we are completing are on the medium-pressure gas pipes. This means we will need to turn your gas supply off and will require access to your property.
In the majority of cases, where we turn off gas supplies, this will be for less than one day, starting from approx. 7.30-8.30am until approximately 8pm at night. Most people are back on gas again by 7.00pm.
We do appreciate this is still a long time, so before we turn off the gas supply, our team will provide fan heaters and appliances for cooking to households where a person or people are registered on the Priority Services Register (PSR) or is identified as vulnerable by our engineers.
Are you able to complete the works faster?
Our work to replace ageing gas mains is a major engineering project and we are working hard to complete it as soon as we can. Where possible we try to reduce the duration of our works and their impact. The project has been carefully planned with the local authority, so it is carried out as efficiently as possible. We use innovative methods and technology to minimise disruption and reduce the time taken to do this work.
How much space do you require to carry out these works safely ?
The amount of road space taken up will vary throughout the project and will be minimised at all times. The scale and extent of this project and the size of the pipes mean we need to use heavy machinery and equipment. To allow us room to manoeuvre this equipment, and to maintain site safety, we need this amount of space. We also have to take account of the position of the existing gas mains.
I can’t see anyone on site – what does this mean?
Although it may appear that no one is working on site, it doesn’t mean that work has been completed. We need to be able to work at different locations to insert pipes, make connections and to carry out testing. It is only once we are satisfied that the new pipe is safely supplying gas to customers that we can fill in the excavation and clear up the site.
Will you reinstate the roads once the project is complete?
Once the work is complete, we will reinstate all excavations and trenches to nationally approved highways standards. We match the colour and texture to the existing surfaces wherever practicable.
What are you doing with the green box in some of our gardens?
Where possible we will also endeavour to remove the individual gas regulator (the green garden box) feeding your property.
Will I be compensated for loss of trade?
There is a compensation scheme in place for small businesses that suffer genuine loss of trade due to our work. For a leaflet and details of the scheme please call 0800 389 5555.
Will the new main have an increased capacity so new consumers can be added in the future? Apart from safety are there other benefits of the project?
The simple answer is yes, with the new plastic mains we are able to increase the pressure and carry more gas to deal with any increase in demand in the future.
To be more specific. the old metallic main currently runs at the lower end of the medium pressure system (550mb). The current main would allow us to raise the pressures slightly if we had greater demand although not much and this would potentially run the risk of causing leaks on any weak points.
By installing the plastic main we have the capability to up the pressure to the full 2Bar this is 4x the current pressure levels. The plastic main that we insert are tested at this pressure over a long period of time when they are installed to give us every confidence that should we ever have to run the system at the highest demand there would be no leaks at joints.
Who is doing the work?
All work is being carried out on our behalf by Morrison Energy Services.