MAJOR work to ensure a section of Chester’s underground gas pipes is ready to keep homes warm over winter will take place through the school summer holidays.

Cadent, which manages the local gas network, is calling time on a 600-metre section of pipe under Queen's Park Road, outside Queen's Park High School and the University of Chester campus.

The old metallic main is now showing signs of its age and, to protect supply to the local area, it needs to be replaced with a modern, durable plastic pipe.

Carrying out this work now also future-proofs the network, helping get it ready for the arrival – as soon as this decade – of cleaner gases such as hydrogen.

Cheshire West and Chester Council has allocated the school summer holidays for Cadent to complete this complex engineering project.

Work will begin on Monday, July 25.

The road stays open throughout, although motorists are advised to expect some waiting as only one lane of the two-lane carriageway will be available.

Metallic gas mains like this one in Queen's Park Road are being upgraded across the North West, as part of an £800 million investment by Cadent in the North West over the next five years.

This programme is helping to get the network ready for a move away from fossil gases to hydrogen, which is essential for a ‘net zero’ future.

Gas stays on during the work – there should be no disruption to supply, aside for a couple of properties which take a direct gas feed from this pipe. Their supply will be stopped while the new connection is made and will be restored the same day.

Craig Horrocks, head of Cadent’s North West Investment Planning Office, said: “Our job is to keep gas flowing to heat homes, schools, offices and many other buildings in the local area, as well as future-proof the network ready for hydrogen.

“This work in Queen's Park Road is an essential part of our programme to upgrade the older pipes within the network. More than 83 per cent of homes in Cheshire West and Chester have gas central heating, so this work now ensures we’re ready to safely deliver that gas both now and through the colder winter months.”