The North of England’s gas distributer, Northern Gas Networks (NGN), is investing in Ilkley’s gas infrastructure this year, replacing ageing metal mains with modern plastic pipes to ensure customers continue to receive a safe and reliable gas supply for years to come.

Gas mains replacement works on the A65 Skipton Road began on 28 March and will take 10 weeks to complete.

The project is progressing well, and this weekend, engineers will temporarily remove the traffic management system to minimise disruption to road users over the Bank Holiday weekend.

The temporary traffic lights will be taken out and the site left in a tidy condition on Friday 29 April with signs and barriers still in place.

Work will restart on the morning of Tuesday 3 May, with the lights reinstated and manned 12 hours a day as before.

Dean Woolley, Network Officer for NGN, said:  “We appreciate that Monday’s Ilkley Carnival is an important community event for the town, so to accommodate the needs of our customers we will temporarily remove the traffic management system this weekend.

“Work will restart on Tuesday 3 May under the previous conditions, as we look to complete the project as quickly and as safely as possible.

“Our customers are extremely important to us and we’re continuing to listen to feedback from the community. If anyone would like to speak to the team they can contact us on 0800 040 7766 or email customercare@northerngas.co.uk.  We’d like to thank everyone for bearing with us while we carry out these essential works.”

For further information about the project please contact NGN’s Customer Care team on 0800 040 7766, option 7 or email customercare@northerngas.co.uk

Anyone that smells gas or suspects Carbon Monoxide should call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999. This line is in operation 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.

The North of England’s gas distributer, Northern Gas Networks (NGN) is saying thank you to the town of Alnwick with a special early Christmas contribution.

NGN carried out essential gas mains replacement works under a road closure on Narrowgate in January, which were planned to last 12 weeks but completed two weeks ahead of schedule.

Northern Gas Networks Site Manager Andrew Rodda (left) handing over a cheque for £500 to Alnwick Christmas Lights Committee Chairman Gordon Castle (right) with Treasurer John Wright, Secretary Jayne Hately and Northern Gas Networks Customer Care Officer Ian Burns.

The outstanding co-operation of local businesses and residents helped NGN engineers finish the project as quickly and efficiently as possible, so to thank the community for their support, NGN have contributed £500 towards the town’s 2016 Christmas Lights display.

NGN Customer Care officers learned that extreme weather in the marketplace last December damaged the town’s Christmas tree lights beyond repair. It is hoped the donation will go towards purchasing a new set of lights for this year’s display.

On Tuesday 26 April, a cheque was presented at the famous Sir Henry Percy statue on Pottergate by NGN Customer Care Officer Ian Burns and Site Manager Andrew Rodda to Chairman of the Alnwick Christmas Lights Committee County Councillor Gordon Castle, Treasurer John Wright and Secretary Jayne Hately.

Councillor Castle said: “It was extremely pleasing that after a successful operation, Northern Gas Networks were able to complete their project well ahead of schedule.

“We very much appreciate the donation NGN has made to Alnwick, and I’ve sure it will be appreciated by the whole town.

“The Christmas Lights committee is an independent group of volunteers and we rely entirely on public support so I’d like to express my gratitude for this donation. It’s the first time a utility company has contributed in this way and we’re certainly very happy to receive it.”

NGN’s Customer Care Officer Ian Burns added: “At NGN we fully appreciate the impact our works can have on customers, and would like to thank the local businesses and residents for their patience and understanding. Their co-operation has been fantastic throughout.

“We understand the town lost £1,000 of Christmas lights in 2015 following high winds in the market place, so as a small gesture of thanks we would like to contribute £500 towards this year’s display.”

Engineers from Northern Gas Networks (NGN) have completed emergency gas mains repair work on St Andrew’s Street in Newcastle.

As a safety precaution it was necessary to evacuate the Premier Inn hotel on the morning of Tuesday 26 April.

Engineers are still on site today, Thursday 28 April, however staff and residents were able to return to the hotel on Wednesday afternoon after the repair was completed.

For further information  contact NGN’s Customer Care Team on 0800 040 7766 or email customercare@northerngas.co.uk

Anyone that smells gas or suspects Carbon Monoxide should call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999. This line is in operation 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.

The North of England’s gas distributer, Northern Gas Networks (NGN) is celebrating after its Major Projects team won two Gold awards at this week’s Considerate Constructor Scheme ceremony in Edinburgh.

Since 1999, the Scheme has been rewarding the UK’s most considerate sites for the contribution they have made towards improving the image of construction. The Scheme looks at the measures a site has put in place to be more considerate towards local neighbourhoods and the public, the workforce, and the environment.

At Monday’s presentation in Scotland, two NGN gas holder demolition sites in the North East, Portrack Lane in Stockton-on-Tees and Elswick in Newcastle-upon-Tyne both won Gold awards for projects valued under £500,000.

Golden double: Major Projects’ two Gold CCS awards, secured on Monday in Edinburgh.

The Elswick site scored 42 out of 50 with its highest marks awarded for community, environmental and safety measures, the inspection praising the work undertaken with stakeholders such as local schools through NGN’s community artist.

Portrack Lane also scored 42, securing its best marks for valuing workforce and community engagement, with special mention given to the site’s welfare facilities, emphasis on healthy body and mind, and its excellent communication with the local primary school which saw painting workshops organised for pupils.

The accolades for the NGN sites and Project Lead Vaughan Crawford are even more special when considering the scale of some of the Scheme’s entries, which included the Forth Road Bridge in Scotland and infrastructure giant BAM Construction.

Tim Harwood, Head of Major Projects for NGN said: “I am incredibly proud of the team who have worked tirelessly to carry out two technically challenging gasholder demolition schemes without accident or incident and with great stakeholder engagement. They have shown great pride in their site and been a credit to themselves and NGN.”

NGN is dedicated to maintaining its high standards on site, both for its customers and contractors. The company is constantly monitoring best practice and in doing so, regularly improving its processes and site efficiency.

Anyone that smells gas or suspects Carbon Monoxide should call the National Gas Emergency Service immediately on 0800 111 999. This line is in operation 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Construction Services teams for the North of England’s gas distributer, Northern Gas Networks (NGN) are celebrating after winning a fantastic 15 awards at this week’s Considerate Constructor Scheme ceremonies in Manchester.

Since 1999, the Scheme has been rewarding the UK’s most considerate sites for the contribution they have made towards improving the image of construction. The Scheme looks at the measures a site has put in place to be more considerate towards local neighbourhoods and the public, the workforce, and the environment.

NGN’s CCS Awards winners at Thursday’s ceremony

NGN’s Yorkshire gas mains replacement sites were nominated for 17 awards at the Lowry in Manchester, and came away with 15 in total.

On Tuesday, the Church Fenton site won both gold and the highly prestigious runner-up prize for Most Considerate Site. Berry Lane Leeds and The Mount York both secured silver while Barnsley Road Wakefield earned a bronze.

Inspectors praised the high standard of community engagement at Church Fenton as work progressed to replace a governor and 320m of gas main. Villagers were kept constantly informed of progress through house visits and public meetings, and NGN sponsored the local cricket and football clubs, scouts and brownies as a goodwill gesture.

The site earned a total of 40 marks out of 50, scoring highly on its environmental measures, which saw trees planted in the governor housing and special drilling techniques introduced to minimise disruption to the surroundings.

Wednesday’s ceremony saw NGN claim four silver awards for sites at St Austell Drive Barnsley, Roman Ridge Doncaster, Carr Street Selby and Newmarket Street Skipton, while Gamble Hill Drive Leeds collected a bronze.

Rounding off a superb week on Thursday, NGN’s Westgate site in Huddersfield won a gold award with Westfield Lane South Elmsall, Carlton Road Pontefract, Stanley Road Wakefield and Queens Road, Bradford all picking up silver.

Inspectors scored the Westgate project an impressive 42 out of 50, for work involving renewal of ageing gas mains in Huddersfield city centre.

Earning full marks for its environmental measures, the site explored new techniques for reheating, treating and re-using stripped-out tarmacadam to fill potholes and trenches which were praised for their ability to save time, money and disruption.

In their executive summary, inspectors said: “This easily useable method could easily transform the state of the country’s roads, making timely repairs feasible and cost-effective. This advanced technology and method of backfilling is exceptional and at the forefront of industry technology and best practice.”

Westgate’s community engagement was also noted for its high standard of communication and involvement at schools.

Dean Shepherdson, Head of Construction Services for NGN said: “These were fantastic results for our teams and are testament to their hard work.

“We want to compete with the best sites in the country. We know roadworks can be disruptive but if our sites are being recognised as minimising impact on customers then we’re delivering the best experience we possibly can.”

NGN is dedicated to maintaining its high standards on site, both for its customers and contractors. The company is constantly monitoring best practice and in doing so, regularly improving its processes and site efficiency.

Anyone that smells gas or suspects Carbon Monoxide should call the National Gas Emergency Service immediately on 0800 111 999. This line is in operation 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The North of England’s gas distributer, Northern Gas Networks, is investing in Ilkley’s gas infrastructure this year to replace ageing metal gas mains with modern plastic pipes.

This is to ensure customers can continue to receive a safe and reliable gas supply for years to come.

The works on the A65 Skipton Road, began on March 28, and will take 10 weeks to complete in total.

In order to minimise disruption to road users, NGN has been working very closely with Bradford City Council to monitor the situation, and this week engineers have made adjustments to the traffic management system to ease congestion.

The temporary two-way traffic lights on Skipton Road will be manned 12 hours a day and real-time reporting is taking place, so traffic updates can be relayed immediately and timings of the lights adjusted as required.

Engineers will be working between 7am and 7pm Monday to Friday and from this weekend, on Saturdays and Sundays as well in order to complete the scheme.

From Thursday, 14 April, the set of lights at the junction of Victoria Avenue and Skipton Road will be suspended and Give Way signs put in place on the Victoria Avenue side of the junction to help ease traffic congestion on Skipton Road.

From Monday 18 April, Victoria Avenue will be closed and a fully signed diversion put in place until Sunday 8 May.

Ian Cunningham, Construction Services Area Manager said:  “We fully appreciate that the A65 is a vitally important route for people in the area and we’ve worked very closely with Bradford City Council to plan these works and minimise disruption to motorists.

“Our number one priority is to complete this work as quickly and as safely as possible, so the two-way traffic lights will be manned 12 hours a day to allow road users to pass safely and keep traffic flowing smoothly while we carry out the work.

“This week we have also introduced real-time reporting on site, so we can relay traffic updates and adjust the timing of the lights accordingly.

“Our engineers will be working from 7am to 7pm to ensure the project is finished as safely and quickly as possible, and from this weekend, they will be working on Saturdays and Sundays as well.

“Our customers are extremely important to us and we’re continuing to listen to feedback from the community. If anyone would like to speak to the team they can contact us on 0800 040 7766 or email customercare@northerngas.co.uk.  We’d like to thank everyone for bearing with us while we carry out these essential works.”

Anyone that smells gas or suspects Carbon Monoxide should call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999. This line is in operation 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.

The North of England’s gas distributer, Northern Gas Networks’ (NGN), opened the doors of its Burradon depot to stakeholders and the local community for the first ever time today (13 April).

The day was a chance for members of public to find out more about what NGN does, how it does it and future plans for the North Tyne area.

NGN employs around 150 colleagues in North Tyne, an area which spans from the Scottish borders to north of the River Tyne.

People were taken on a tour of the depot and given the opportunity to find out more about NGN’s innovative approach to repairing and replacing gas pipes as well as the work that the company is doing with local schools and to support the more vulnerable members of the community.

Members of the public could see first-hand NGNs life-saving gas detection technology that can detect harmful levels of carbon monoxide in the atmosphere.  They also got to see its new Core and Vac technology in practice, which reduces the amount of time taken to find a gas leak and make a repair from days to hours.

Nigel Chambers, Customer Operations Area Manager for the North Tyne area said, “We were delighted to see so many people turn up to our first ever depot day. Northern Gas Networks provides an essential service to the local community each and every day, so it was a great opportunity to share more information about the work we do and also get some direct feedback from our customers and stakeholders to help us continuously improve the service we provide.”

NGN delivers gas to around 302,405 homes and businesses in North Tyne, covering an area of 3,600km2.  The area includes the gas distributor’s depot in Burradon, a gas offtake site in Saltwick, where gas is transported into the distribution network from the national grid, and two pressure reduction stations in Hazelrigg and Blaydon.

One of the Howdon gas holders

The North of England’s gas distributer, Northern Gas Networks (NGN), is investing over £680,000 to safely dismantle and remove its gas holder tanks in Howdon, Newcastle upon Tyne.

The major project, which began on Monday 21 March 2016, will take 32 weeks to complete and be carried out in conjunction with specialist partner, G O’Brien Group.

For around 100 years gas holders were a vital part of the local gas supply system, responsible for supplying gas to thousands of people across the country.  In more recent years the gas holders have been used to bolster the network’s gas supplies during colder weather, and at peak times in the early evenings.  However, advances in technology and the enhanced capability of the modern-day gas network, mean that gas holders are no longer in use.

NGN is committed to taking down its gas holders in an environmentally responsible way, by recycling as many materials from the site as possible.

Mark Johnson, from NGN’s Major Projects team said: “The decision has been made to dismantle the gas holders at Howdon as they are no longer in use and are costly to maintain.  We’ll be working with a specialist contractor to carry out the work in a safe and environmentally responsible way.

“We know how important these structures are to communities and we held an engagement session with local residents in March which was very well attended. It gave people the opportunity to find out more about our work to deconstruct the holders and share their memories before they disappear from the skyline.”

NGN’s local community artist has also been capturing the structures through art, painting and sketching the industrial structures before they are removed from the skyline.

NGN is encouraging people to share their memories of the Howdon gas holders through its ‘Gas Holder Memories’ campaign by emailing gasholdermemories@northerngas.co.uk, using #gasholdermemories on Facebook.com/northerngasnetworks and Twitter @NGNgas or writing to: Northern Gas Networks, 1^st Floor, 1 Emperor Way, Doxford International Business Park, Sunderland, SR3 3XR.

NGN is aiming to demolish 23 of the region’s gas holders by 2021 as part of continued investment in modernising the gas network.

A short film has been made to commemorate NGN’s gas holders as they disappear from the region’s skyline.

The film is now available to watch at: http://www.northerngasnetworks.co.uk/ngn-and-you/environment/cleaner-and-greener/case-studies/

For further information about the project please visit www.northerngasnetworks.co.uk, contact NGN’s Customer Care team on 0800 040 7766 or email customercare@northerngas.co.uk.

Anyone that smells gas or suspects Carbon Monoxide should call the National Gas Emergency Service immediately on 0800 111 999. This line is in operation 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The gas holder at Ayres Quay is in the process of being dismantled and removed.

The North of England’s gas distributer, Northern Gas Networks (NGN), is investing over £500,000 to safely dismantle and remove its gas holder tank in Ayres Quay, Sunderland.

The major project, which began on Monday 11 July 2016, will take 23 weeks to complete and be carried out in conjunction with specialist partner, G O’Brien Group.

For around 100 years gas holders were a vital part of the local gas supply system, responsible for supplying gas to thousands of people across the country.  In more recent years, the gas holders have been used to bolster the network’s gas supplies during colder weather, and at peak times in the early evenings. However, advances in technology and the enhanced capability of the modern-day gas network, mean that gas holders are no longer in use.

NGN is committed to taking down its gas holders in an environmentally responsible way, by recycling as many materials as possible. The company will be using tried and tested techniques to clear the site and once the holder has been removed, spoil from local streetworks sites will be used to fill the vast excavation left behind.

Mark Johnson, from NGN’s Major Projects team said: “The decision has been made to dismantle the gas holder at Ayres Quay as it is no longer in use and is costly to maintain. We’ll be working with a specialist contractor to carry out the work in a safe and environmentally responsible way.

“We know how important these structures can be to communities and we’ll be working closely with local residents and stakeholders to give them the opportunity to commemorate the structure as it disappears from the skyline, through hosting art workshops with our local community artist.”

NGN is encouraging people to share their memories of the Ayres Quay gas holder through its ‘Gas Holder Memories’ campaign by emailing gasholdermemories@northerngas.co.uk, using #gasholdermemories on facebook.com/northerngasnetworks and Twitter @NGNgas , or in writing to: Northern Gas Networks, 1^st Floor, 1 Emperor Way, Doxford International Business Park, Sunderland, SR3 3XR.

NGN is aiming to demolish 23 of the region’s gas holders by 2021 as part of our continued investment in modernising the gas network.

A short film has been made to commemorate NGN’s gas holders as they disappear from the region’s skyline.

The film is now available to watch at: http://www.northerngasnetworks.co.uk/ngn-and-you/environment/cleaner-and-greener/case-studies/

For further information about the project, please visit www.northerngasnetworks.co.uk, contact NGN’s Customer Care team on 0800 040 7766 or email customercare@northerngas.co.uk

Anyone that smells gas or suspects Carbon Monoxide should call the National Gas Emergency Service immediately on 0800 111 999. This line is in operation 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The North of England’s gas distributor, Northern Gas Networks (NGN), which delivers gas to 2.7 million homes and businesses in the North East, Northern Cumbria and much of Yorkshire, today announced it has partnered with customer engagement specialists Rant & Rave to capture real-time feedback from its customers in a bid to improve customer satisfaction.

From later this month, customers who have had gas pipes replaced as part of NGN’s £90 million a year gas mains replacement project to ensure the continued safe and reliable supply of gas, will be invited to share their thoughts on the service they receive. Collected via text message the comments will be used to help identify behaviours and trends that are affecting customer satisfaction.

Rant & Rave’s technology will understand every comment instantly and present the results back to NGN so they can take action to improve the customer experience. Opportunities for process improvements will be highlighted, outstanding customer service recognised and training needs addressed.

The partnership is driven by the award winning company’s aspiration to hear from a larger proportion of their customer demographic and to build a deeper understanding of how they feel about the brand.

Mark Horsley, Chief Executive Officer for Northern Gas Networks said “Nothing is more powerful than listening to our customers’ feedback.  Being able to access this feedback in real time will help us understand what we can do better, what we’re already doing well and the changes that we can make that will have the most impact. Rant & Rave will help to drive our customer experience strategy as we continue to put people and the voice of our customers at the heart of everything we do.”

Dennis Fois, CEO for Rant & Rave, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Northern Gas Networks to the Raveolution and look forward to helping them achieve their admirable customer experience aspirations.”