Cadent manages the local underground gas network in the North West. The company is working with the council to carry out essential improvement works to the gas pipes in Wirral.

Some of the pipes in Wirral are over 100 years old and need to be replaced so that they can continue to be used safely.

The pipes that Cadent will be working on distribute gas to homes, hospitals, schools, offices and industry and help to provide the services that we need to live and work. More than 87% of Wirral’s homes rely on gas central heating to provide warmth and hot water and these works are critical to ensure that this continues to happen safely.

Work to upgrade gas pipes in 2021-22 will mainly be focused in the following areas of Wirral:

  • West Kirby
  • Heswall
  • Gayton
  • Bebington
  • Bromborough
  • Eastham
  • Saughall Massie

Cadent are working with the council to help deliver this programme and help minimise disruption. Where possible, all works within this programme are being scheduled to avoid clashes with other planned projects and highway schemes, such as road surfacing works.

View a map of the most up-to-date roadworks

Benefits of the scheme

The replacement of pipes will not only make essential upgrades so that pipes can continue to be used safely but will help prepare the network for clean gases, such as hydrogen, which will be essential for helping to reach the local and national targets of reducing carbon emissions to net zero.

You can read more about gas and the move to be more sustainable on Cadent’s website.

How the scheme will be funded

The programme of works in Wirral is part of the £50million programme to upgrade 485,000 metres of gas mains in the North West in the year from April 2021 to March 2022.

Read more about this regional programme on Cadent’s website.

Timescales

Cadent have been working through a 30-year programme of works to upgrade gas pipes and modernise the gas network in the UK and in 2021, they started the final 10 years of the project, where the most significant amount of work will need to be completed.

In Wirral, 47,658 metres of gas pipe will need to be upgraded this year. About the same amount will be upgraded each year until the programme of works is complete.

Emergency gas works

Alongside the upgrade works, routine maintenance and repair jobs, as well as the necessary fast response work to emergencies and reports of smells of gas will also continue to take place.

If you ever smell gas, call 0800 111 999 immediately, day or night. Do not delay, or assume it is related to nearby works. It may not be and needs to be checked.

What to do if you are having gas works near you?

If the works are part of this major upgrade programme and you are going to be one of the properties directly impacted, Cadent will send you information by letter several weeks before the project begins.

In some cases, Cadent may need to switch off your gas supply but if this is needed, you will get advance notice and Cadent will ensure that the gas is turned back on the same day. A qualified engineer will turn your supply off and back on again, and check everything is working safely.

You can find more information about how works are carried out on Cadent’s website.

If you need to contact  about gas main upgrade work in your area: