Cadent to upgrade 15km of pipes in the Rochdale borough over next 12 months

Cadent, which manages the region’s gas network, will modernise around 420km of its North West pipeline over the next 12 months

Over 15,000 metres of gas pipes in Rochdale are to be updated between 2024 and 2025.

The upgrades come as Cadent, which manages the region’s gas network, will modernise around 420km of its North West pipeline over the next 12 months.

The £80m investment will be delivered by six hundred skilled gas engineers who 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.

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 Mark Sayers, head of investment planning office (North West), 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.”