Phase one of Harrogate town centre mains replacement to get underway: A new water main being laid cropped
Yorkshire Water is set to begin the first phase of a £1.8m project to replace over 1.2km of water mains in Harrogate town centre on 6th October, following a previous delay to the project.
The project will see the mains replaced with durable, flexible plastic pipework that will improve reliability of drinking water supply, reduce leakage and prevent water main bursts in the area. The work is part of Yorkshire Water’s £406m investment to replace more than 1,000km of water mains across the region over the next five years.
Alex Spivey, project manager at Yorkshire Water, said:
Since the project was postponed we have been working closely with the council to reschedule, and to make sure that we’re completing the work with as little disruption as possible. We’re really pleased that we’ll be able to start the project in the next couple of weeks – sooner than we’d previously thought.
Subject to permits, the first phase of the project will start on 6 October, in the pedestrianised area of Market Place and is expected to last until late November. Foot access will be maintained throughout.
Towards the end of the first phase, on 16 November, there will be a short road closure on James Street to allow the newly laid clean water network to be connected into the existing network safely.
Alex added:
We completely appreciate that roadworks are disruptive and would like to thank everyone in the area for their patience and understanding. In the project area, there have been 10 mains burst over the last three years – by completing this work, we hope to make emergency roadworks much less likely in the future.
The second phase of the project is expected to begin in the new year.
This scheme is one of 21 planned across North Yorkshire in the first year of Yorkshire Water’s mains investment project, totalling over 90km of pipework being replaced. A further 26km will be replaced in the second year, across 10 schemes. Planning is underway for the last three years of the investment period.
The wider mains replacement scheme forms part of Yorkshire Water’s £8.3bn investment into Yorkshire over the next five years.
