'Big U-turn' as Ludlow gas pipe work is cancelled

Ludlow town centre was supposed to become a work site in January as National Grid Gas finally carried out work first mooted this time last year.

The roadworks, to replace old gas pipes, were to go ahead after they were put back twice earlier this year, with permission refused during the busy tourist season.

But now, after 11 months of talks and with Ludlow Town Council on the verge of making preparations, the utility company has said the work does not need to be carried out after all, except on a short section of Old Street.

Councillors have today reacted with both relief and frustration, said town clerk Gina Wilding.

She said: "It is very good news because it means Ludlow town centre won't be shut down for six weeks.

"We had arranged for a meeting where a representative from contractors Balfour Beatty was going to come and start going around to talk to shop owners and so on, but all that has become redundant, which is a relief.

"But it is quite a big U-turn."

She said the decision was due to changes in how risk was assessed on pipes, agreed with the national Health and Safety Executive.

Andy Boddington, Shropshire councillor for Ludlow North, said: "It was an urgent job, we were told last December, so urgent, the work would have to commence in April.

"When National Grid Gas missed that date, it announced that it would dig up King Street and High Street in July, a decision that was met with a volley of protests from councillors, the town council and traders.

"When Shropshire Council said 'no', National Grid proposed doing the work from mid-September to November - that's still a busy season and after more lobbying, the company agreed to move the works back to January 2016.

"It is good news our town is not going to be disrupted unnecessarily.

"It is nevertheless utterly frustrating and something of a farce that after months of discussions on timing, the mains replacement work turns out to be unnecessary."

A spokesman for National Grid Gas said: "The primary reason that iron pipes are identified for replacement is due to the risk score.

"Other than the short section in Old Street, none of the remaining pipes currently have a risk score that is significant enough to consider replacement during our current formula review period, which currently runs until the end of March 2021."

Work will still take place in Old Street, at the junction of St Johns Lane, in the next couple of years, but dates have yet to be agreed with Shropshire Council.