RESIDENTS who live near where new pipes are set to be laid in the centre of Wellington have been assured that gas will continue to flow during the project.

Wales & West Utilities plans to start work on upgrading old metal pipes to new plastic ones from the junction of High Street and Priory to outside the shops in Lancer Court on January 2.

The WWN recently reported the work being carried out by Morrison Utility Services would take 13 weeks but in a letter to consumers last week the timescale is put at 11 weeks.

Wales & West Utilities has worked with Somerset County Council to plan the work and it has been agreed that manually operated traffic lights will be used while the work is carried out to keep disruption to local people and road users to a minimum.

Company programme controller Barry Sale, who is managing the work, said: “We know that working on roads like these is not ideal, but it really is essential to make sure we keep the gas flowing to homes and businesses in the area and to make sure the gas network is fit for the future. We’ll have a team of gas engineers on site throughout the project to make sure our work is completed as safely and as quickly as possible while keeping disruption to a minimum.

“We’re very aware of the effect that our work can have on communities and commuters, and want to ensure everyone that we are working closely with the county council to get this essential work done as quickly as possible, while causing the least inconvenience to local people.”

Local businesses will be open as usual while work is taking place and Wales & West Utilities will accommodate trade deliveries, where possible.

The company’s customer service team is ready to take calls from anyone with questions about the work. It can be contacted on freephone 0800 912 2999 or enquiries@www

utilities.co.uk Alternatively, residents can contact Twitter @WWUtilities or Facebook.

com/WWUtilities. 

Wales & West Utilities has a multi-million pound, 30-year gas pipe investment programme which began in 2002.