TWO MORE YEARS OF GAS WORKS DIGGING
WEXFORD COUNTY COUNCIL GIVEN PRESENTATION ON €30M GAS PROJECT’S PROGRESS
HOUSING ESTATES in Wexford which are close to the new natural gas grid can be connected to the network if 20% of residents sign up for the service, a representative of Ervia revealed in a presentation to Wexford District Council.
Businesses on Wexford’s Main Street will not be connected to the network during the next phase of pipe-laying and installation work but the quayfront and Anne Street will be included.
Ervia, umbrella company for Gas Networks Ireland, Irish Water and Aurora Telecom, was invited to a meeting to give a progress report on the work being carried out after councillors complained about the streets being constantly dug up and people being left in the dark about when excavations are going to be finished.
Other utility companies including Virgin Media are to be invited to future meetings to outline their schedules in front of councillors.
Andrew Doyle of Gas Networks, senior construction engineer on the Wexford Town Gas and Water Project, said phase to date one has involved the laying of 11.5 kilometres of gas mains in Wexford town and 1.5 kilometres of water mains along with all water-related site investigations. Two additional sections of gas mains were brought forward into phase one, in order to deliver gas to the new Divisional Garda HQ in Mulgannon and the Ferrycarrig Hotel.
The Garda station connection meant fast-tracking the design of water rehabilitation works planned in Maudlintown, resulting in the laying of one gas main and two water mains side by side.
Mr Doyle said that while the work proved challenging from a technical point of view, it will result in the avoidance of further disruption to businesses and residents in this area at a later date. Rocklands was particularly difficult because of ground conditions.
The engineer said there are also planned connections to Whitford Hotel and the new Courthouse in Wygram.
He said: ‘Since the start of the project, we have adopted a flexible approach to how and where we work, in order to facilitate the needs of the community, as well as the expectations of gas customers. We are very grateful to the assistance received from Wexford County Council and the patience and understanding received from local residents and businesses to date’.
‘It is important to note that the final routing of the streets planned for gas pipe-laying works during the remainder of phase one and in phase two, will be subject to change. This is normally as a result of new information becoming available in relation to potential gas customers or the conditions associated with completing works in a particular street.’
The expected completion date for phase one is May 2018, with the remaining work to be done including final water mains connections on Newtown Road, final re-instatement in Maudlintown and Newtown Road, another three kilometres of gas pipe laying on Spawell Road, the Old Hospital Road, Slaney Street, Westgate, Commercial Quay, Custom House Quay, Anne Street and George’s Street. These projects are subject to final agreement with Wexford County Council roads department and may change.
Common Quay Street car park was also added, as there are two customers there who are keen to connect to the gas network. The work in this location will be carried out at night time due to the volume of day-time traffic and is due to be finished by January 26.
Phase two is expected to begin this summer and will consist of 11 km of combined gas and water pipe laying, the replacement of over 1,000 problematic backyard and shared water services throughout the town, including common lead services. The next phase is due to take 12 to 15 months and should be be completed by the end of 2019. There are approximately 15 to 20 areas with shared services and communal pipes around Wexford.
Two initial phases of gas pipe laying were completed up to May 2016 including provision for the IDA Business and Technology Park and Glanbia. Two further phases of combined gas and water main laying were then approved as a joint Gas Networks Ireland and Irish Water project and these are ongoing. Mr Doyle said the investment in Wexford is €30 million. Archaeological monitoring is being carried out.
Cllr David Hynes asked if the gas service would become available to domestic customers or do they need a large volume of people to
20 PER CENT OF HOUSEHOLDS IN AN ESTATE NEED TO CONNECT FOR IT TO BE VIABLE
sign up. Mr Doyle replied that anyone in proximity to the network at the moment can be connected for a cost of approximately €250 including VAT for 15 metres of piping but in order to extend it to existing housing estates, the company needs 20% of the households to connect for it to be viable.
‘It’s commercial customers who drive the local provision. Once you get that 20% figure for domestic customers it’s viable’.
Asked about the centre of town, he said the plan was to have it on the Main Street but because of the condition of the surface it wouldn’t make sense, but if businesses on the quay and Anne Street are interested, they will look at it.
In reply to Cllr Ger Carthy, who asked about the bond paid by the company to cover repairs and re-instatement, Mr Doyle said they don’t operate a bond system. They have a long-term damage fee agreement and a two-year maintenance agreement.
Borough engineer Seán Kavanagh said a road opening licence was gramted which covered three provisions – administration fee, a refundable deposit and long-term damage and in this case, the council had agreed that there would be no refundable deposit but there is a long-term damage fee agreement. Currently Gas Networks have paid €150,000 to cover long-term damage for the work to date.
‘Nothing has been accepted by Wexford County Council as being completed’, said Mr Kavanagh. He said the long-term damage fee is designed to reflect the impact of the work on the life expectancy of affected roads and it allows the local authority to carry out maintenance to extend the life of the road.
Mr Doyle said Commercial Quay, Custom House Quay and Anne Street are included in the current phase and contractors will be going to further sites on the quay near the Talbot Hotel.
Cllr Lisa McDonald said the biggest concern for people was when was it going to be finalised. ‘What we are finding as with the Virgin experience is it seems to be going on ad infinitum. She commented that €150,000 was not a large amount of money when it comes to repairing and re-instating roads.
Mr Doyle said the fourth and final phase will start in July of this year and will finish at the end of 2019.
Wexford presents challenges as it is an historic, Viking town with narrow street and Ervia is trying to complete the work in small sections so as to minimise disruption.
The Mayor of Wexford, Cllr Jim Moore, said he believes there is an issue in relation to the standard of the temporary re-instatement work but added that €30 million investment in Wexford town is a good day.
‘It is a good news story for Wexford and you’re absolutely welcome here,’ said Cllr Lisa McDonald. ‘But a bit of clarity in relation to information about what is happening would be helpful’.
Director of services Tony Larkin said there is information that the council has and councillors don’t have and it could be included in monthly engineer’s reports.
IT’S A GOOD NEWS STORY FOR WEXFORD BUT CLARITY WOULD BE HELPFUL