Cadent set to invest £80m in upgrading the North West's gas mains in 2024

Around 420,000 metres of the North West’s gas mains are set to be upgraded in the next 12 months.

Cadent, which manages the region’s gas network, says the work will see major upgrades on mains installed more than 100 years ago.

The length of mains being tackled is the same straight-line distance as Liverpool to Aberdeen. It is also the same length as around 4,000 football pitches, and the same height as more than 2,600 Blackpool Towers.

The £80m investment will be delivered by 600 skilled gas engineers.

What do the upgrades entail?

They will be upgrading vital pipes to plastic to ensure a long-term safe network, as well as remain on track to replace fossil gas with greener alternatives, such as biomethane and hydrogen. 

This change is essential to achieve local plans for meeting energy demands in ways that better protect the planet.

As part of its commitment to keeping customers safe and warm, every year Cadent replaces around 1.5 per cent of its 34,000km North West underground distribution system. These are mostly ageing metallic mains nearing the end of their safe operating lives.

The work is part of a bigger 30-year engineering programme, which is happening across the UK and is due to finish in 2032.

“More than 80 per cent of homes in the North West rely on gas for central heating and it’s our job to make sure they get it, safely and reliably, every minute of every day of the year,” said Head of Investment Planning Office (North West) Mark Syers, who leads the team delivering Cadent’s gas mains upgrade work in the region.

“As our older stock reaches the end of its safe working life, we must replace it. We’re also excited by the arrival soon of hydrogen to our networks, which is going to be essential to the North West achieving its targets to reduce carbon emissions.

“In most cases we’re able to insert the new pipe into the old one, a technique that reduces the time of each project and means we don’t have to dig as much.

“It also means an end to what often becomes increasingly-frequent visits – with associated disruption – to repair faults on the older metallic mains, as they start to show signs of age. We know it’s not ideal, but my team is determined to move as quickly as they safely can and get the work done with as little disruption as possible.”

By distance, the ‘top five’ workload areas for 2024-25 are: Wirral (45,793 metres), Manchester (24,697), Liverpool (24,287 metres), Sefton (21,656 metres), and Wigan (20,368 metres). You will find the figures for each of the North West’s local authority areas in the table below.

Metres of pipe to be upgraded in 2024-25, by local authority area:

Wigan - 20,368

Ribble Valley - 10,132

Blackpool - 9,956

Blackburn with Darwen - 7,290

South Ribble - 6,819

Burnley - 6,804

Chorley - 6,226

Wyre - 5,490

Rossendale - 5,408

Preston - 5,041

Lancaster - 4,692

Pendle - 4,538

West Lancashire - 3,001

Hyndburn - 2,414

Fylde - 2,314

How will Cadent prevent traffic disruption during these works?

Cadent works with the local highways authorities to agree the best and least disruptive timings to carry out these essential upgrades.

Once start dates have been confirmed, letters are sent to properties impacted ahead of the work starting.

Part of the programme also involves replacing individual ‘service’ pipes of tens of thousands of properties at no extra cost for customers. Cadent makes all the arrangements and gives advance notice of when work will happen.

Gas remains on throughout, although in some cases properties that take a direct feed from the pipe being replaced will lose supply for up to 12 hours, as their building is connected to the new main. Customer teams are available to answer any questions.