Traffic and Travel Alert: Northern Gas Networks to start work in Knaresborough today

Drivers in Knaresborough should expect delays as Northern Gas Networks begins work on York Road today.

The company is carrying out work to replace ageing pipework on the street.

Temporary traffic lights will be in place on at the junction with Wetherby Road for the duration of the roadworks.

Engineers will be carrying out the improvements, which are in collaboration with North Yorkshire County Council, for the next two weeks.

Scott Kitchingman, business operations lead for Northern Gas Networks, said: 

“We would like to apologise in advance for any inconvenience caused during these essential works. 

“However, it is vital we complete them in order to continue to maintain a safe and reliable gas supply to our customers in Knaresborough.”

The Stray Ferret has changed the way it offers Traffic and Travel alerts.

We will now notify you instantly through app notifications and flash tweets when there is an urgent alert. This could include heavy traffic, dangerous weather and long delays or cancellations of public transport.

The alerts are sponsored by The HACS Group.

Traffic lights coming to busy Knaresborough junction

Temporary traffic lights will operate in Knaresborough during two weeks of roadworks next month.

Multi-way traffic lights will be in place on York Road, at the junction of Wetherby Road, for a fortnight from April 11.

Northern Gas Networks, the gas distributor for the north of England, is replacing metal pipes with plastic pipes.

It said in a press release today the work would “ensure a safe and reliable supply of gas to customers now while getting the network ready to transport alternative greener fuels such as hydrogen in the future”.

The work has been planned in collaboration with North Yorkshire County Council, the highways authority.

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Scott Kitchingman, business operations lead for Northern Gas Networks, said:

“We would like to apologise in advance for any inconvenience caused during these essential works. However, it is vital we complete them in order to continue to maintain a safe and reliable gas supply to our customers in Knaresborough.

“We want to assure residents and road users that we will be working hard to complete this essential scheme as safely and as quickly as possible.”

 

Road closure affects Harrogate’s Leadhall Lane until Friday

Motorists face delays this week as emergency roadworks are carried out on Leadhall Lane in Harrogate.

Northern Gas Networks is currently carrying out repairs to a gas pipe on the road.

Leadhall Lane is closed in both directions between Throstle Nest Drive and Leadhall Road.

The company has apologised for any inconvenience caused.

Northern Gas said in a statement:

“We’re carrying out emergency repairs at Leadhall Lane. 

“To safely reach the main under the carriageway, we’ve had to close the road until Friday. We’re really sorry for any inconvenience during this time.”

The works are the latest by Northern Gas Networks in the town.

Last month, the company undertook a series of works on Skipton Road at the junctions with Knox Avenue, Bilton Grange Close and Skipton Crescent.

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Traffic and Travel Alert: Heavy traffic on Skipton Road near roadworks

Northern Gas Networks is carrying out works on Skipton Road close to the New Park roundabout.

There are temporary traffic lights in place, which has lead to heavy traffic in the area this morning.

Works are due to finish on Friday, January 28.

The Stray Ferret has changed the way it offers Traffic and Travel alerts.

We will now notify you instantly through app notifications and flash tweets when there is an urgent alert. This could include heavy traffic, dangerous weather and long delays or cancellations of public transport.

The alerts are sponsored by The HACS Group.

Five weeks of gas works to start on Harrogate’s Skipton Road in New Year

Traffic lights will be in place at busy junctions on Skipton Road in Harrogate at the start of the New Year.

Northern Gas Networks will install temporary lights at the junctions with Knox Avenue, Bilton Grange Close and Skipton Crescent while it replaces metal pipes with plastic ones.

The company will begin the upgrade at January 4 at the junction with Knox Avenue. This will see three-way temporary traffic lights in place for two weeks.

From January 17, the lights will be moved to Bilton Grange Close where two-way lights will be placed at the junction of Skipton Road for a further week.

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For the final two weeks of the project, the two-way temporary traffic lights will be moved along Skipton Road, to the junction with Skipton Crescent.

Northern Gas Networks said in a statement that although most work will be carried out on the road, engineers will need access to customer properties to complete the project and ensure the continued safe and reliable supply of gas.

Scott Kitchingman, business operations lead for Northern Gas Networks, said:

 “We would like to apologise in advance for any inconvenience caused during these essential works.

“We greatly appreciated the patience that Harrogate customers showed us when we carried out work at Skipton Road earlier this year, and we’ll be doing our very best to minimise any disruption during this project at Knox Avenue and Bilton Grange Close.

“However, it is vital we complete the work in order to continue to maintain a safe and reliable gas supply to the residents of Harrogate.

“Northern Gas Networks is continuing to carry out its essential activities while following strict guidelines for safe distance working, where possible, and following good hygiene practices as we continue to live with coronavirus.

“We want to assure residents and road users that we will be working hard to complete this essential scheme as safely and as quickly as possible.”

Jennyfields residents urged to be patient over gas leak payments

Jennyfields residents still waiting for £60 gas compensation payments have been told they will be issued automatically.

About 3,500 homes in Jennyfields were without gas for 48 hours after a major gas leak on Ripon Road in October.

Northern Gas Networks, which distributes gas to homes and businesses in Yorkshire, the North East and northern Cumbria, automatically issues £60 compensation payments through customers’ gas suppliers for loss of supply for more than 24 hours.

But six weeks after the leak, which the company said affected more people than any other incident it had dealt with in the last 18 months, some people have yet to be paid.

Eileen Brown, customer experience director for Northern Gas Networks, told the Stray Ferret some payments had been delayed because gas suppliers had gone out of business.

Ms Brown said Northern Gas Networks would process the payments when it was notified of the new suppliers. She added if it made the payments before then they could be delayed even longer because they would get tied up in lengthy administration processes.

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She pledged all 3,500 homes would be fully compensated automatically and asked residents not to call Northern Gas Networks requesting payments.

“Payments will be coming to them. They don’t have to do anything for it.”

Asked how long people could expect to wait, Ms Brown said it was likely to be weeks rather than months but added the timings were “beyond our control” because of the need to wait until customers were transferred to new suppliers.

Some customers on the priority services register are also entitled to £48 compensation payments for the provision of alternative heating. Again, Ms Brown pledged they would be made.

‘1 in 43 years occurrence’

The leak occurred when sub-contractors damaged a pipe during deep excavation work about three metres below the surface of Ripon Road, near the Hydro.

Northern Gas Networks converted the Styan Community Centre in Jennyfields into an emergency hub to respond to the incident.

A total of 355 Northern Gas Networks engineers and volunteers helped that weekend, aided by 30 voluntary organisations. The company gave away 800 electric heaters, “slightly fewer” electric hobs, 50 oil filled radiators and 1,500 food vouchers worth £10 each.

The company’s response was widely praised by people in the area.

Ms Brown said the loss of gas supply happened on average once every 43 years and most customers would not experience this again in their lifetimes.

Asked how much the incident had cost Northern Gas Networks, she said she was unable to say but added:

“We do the right thing for customers. The cost is the cost. It’s about being there for customers.”

 

Residents invited to attend Jennyfields gas leak meeting

Residents are being invited to attend a meeting on December 2 to discuss the gas leak that affected 3,500 homes in Harrogate.

Northern Gas Networks has organised the meeting, which will take place at the Styan Community Centre in Jennyfields.

The centre became an emergency hub from October 15 to 17 when NGN sub-contractors damaged an underground pipe on Ripon Road where roadworks were taking place.

Gas supply to homes in the HG1, HG2, HG3 and HG4 areas was cut off and thousands of electric heaters and food vouchers were handed out.

An NGN statement said:

“While incidents such as this are rare, it’s important that we reflect on what went well, and what we could have done better, so that we continually improve the service that we provide to our customers.

“During the session we’ll give a brief overview of how the incident unfolded, what support Northern Gas Networks provided to minimise disruption, and what we are now doing to make sure that an incident like this does not occur again.

“There will be then be an opportunity to discuss a number of key areas, including communication, support services and working with others.”

NGN said the meeting was aimed at residents, business owners, councillors, MPs, emergency workers and community groups.

To attend, you must register here by November 26.

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Harrogate gas leak: public meeting to be held

Northern Gas Networks is to hold a public meeting to discuss the recent leak that left 3,000 Harrogate homes without gas for 48 hours.

Discussing the cause of the leak for the first time, the company said in a statement that sub-contractors had damaged the underground pipe on Ripon Road in Jennyfields, where roadworks were taking place.

Gas supply to homes in the HG1, HG2, HG3 and HG4 areas was affected for two days from October 15 to 17. The Styan Community Centre in Jennyfields was converted into an emergency hub where residents could collect electric heaters and food vouchers.

The statement added the company had informed the Health and Safety Executive, the government agency responsible for workplace safety, and “instructed an internal investigation to understand the full circumstances”. No further details have been released.

It said:

“While the internal investigation is still ongoing, Northern Gas Networks can confirm that the gas pipe was damaged during essential gas mains replacement work which was being carried out by a specialist sub-contractor working on behalf of Northern Gas Networks.

“In the coming weeks Northern Gas Networks will be hosting a public meeting and inviting customers and stakeholders to join Northern Gas Networks colleagues to reflect on the incident and take a deeper look at the events of that weekend.

“The purpose of the meeting is to give customers the opportunity to share their feedback and for Northern Gas Networks to gather valuable insight to enable them to continue to improve their response.”

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John Richardson, customer operations director at Northern Gas Networks, said:

“The safety of our engineers and members of the public is our priority and we are supporting the teams and contracting partners involved to ensure that we learn from what happened and put the appropriate measures in place so that safety is never compromised.”

Traffic lights on Ripon Road, which had been in place since early September while Northern Gas Networks completed engineering work to upgrade metal gas mains, were removed last weekend.

 

Roadworks on Harrogate’s Ripon Road delayed for third time

The completion date for the Northern Gas Networks roadworks on Ripon Road in Harrogate has been put back again.

Traffic lights were initially due to operate for four weeks from September 6 on the busy route into Harrogate town centre for what the company described as “essential work to modernise the gas network in Harrogate”.

But they were still in place when a major gas leak, which affected 3,000 homes for 48 hours, occurred on October 15.

North Yorkshire County Council has already granted roadwork extensions until October 22 and October 28.

Now Northern Gas Networks has said it expects work to continue throughout this week.

Scott Kitchingman, business operations manager at Northern Gas Networks, said:

“We had expected to remove temporary traffic lights on the Ripon Road at the end of last week, however we have encountered a delay in completing the final stages of our work and traffic management will remain in place this week.

“We know that no one likes roadworks and we would like to thank everyone for their patience while we complete this essential work.”

Northern Gas Networks said on October 17 it would carry out a “full investigation” into the gas leak but it has not released any details since, despite requests from the Stray Ferret.

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Harrogate gas leak: cause still not revealed as roadworks continue

Northern Gas Networks has yet to reveal what caused the leak that left 3,000 Harrogate homes without gas last weekend.

Gas could be smelled for miles around following the incident at the Ripon Road roadworks near the Hydro leisure centre. Thousands of electric fan heaters, electric hobs and food vouchers were distributed to residents in the Jennyfields area.

An emergency hub opened at the Styan Community Centre to help those affected.

One week on, the cause remains unknown and the roadworks, which were initially due to last for four weeks from September 6, are still ongoing.

John Richardson, director of customer operations at Northern Gas Networks, said a “full investigation” would take place after a new pipe was laid.

He said:

“Our engineers are continuing to closely monitor the gas network in the Jennyfields area of Harrogate while we complete our essential work.

“We’re aware that some people were experiencing low gas pressure yesterday, which occurred while we worked to permanently repair the gas pipe. Our engineers responded promptly and normal pressures were restored the same day.

“We worked around the clock, laying a further over-land bypass pipe to increase the gas available to the local network and also increased gas pressure in the area to ensure that supplies were maintained while our engineers worked.

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“Once a new pipe has been commissioned this weekend, we will be carrying out a full investigation into the cause of the gas escape, which occurred on Friday 15 October.

“Temporary two way traffic lights will remain in place at the junction with Grainbeck Lane and Otley Road for another week while we complete our essential work to modernise the gas network in Harrogate.”

A spokesperson for North Yorkshire County Council, the highways authority, said:

“We approved an extension to the roadworks on October 6 lasting until October 22. Northern Gas Networks has since requested an extension until October 28.”