Wetherby town centre road closures in £150,000 gas mains plan

A major £150,000 project to replace part of Wetherby's gas distribution network will see town centre road closures for several weeks in the New Year.
The junction where Westgate meets Bank Street in Wetherby. Picture: Google MapsThe junction where Westgate meets Bank Street in Wetherby. Picture: Google Maps
The junction where Westgate meets Bank Street in Wetherby. Picture: Google Maps

Northern Gas Networks will replace the ageing metal pipes with more durable plastic ones as it upgrades 600m of gas mains on Westgate, Church Street and Bank Street, in the town.

The project, which will begin on Monday January 9 and last around nine weeks, has been planned in conjunction with Leeds City Council to minimise disruption.

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Russ Oxley, Construction Services Area Manager at Northern Gas Networks said: “We have been working closely with Leeds City Council to carefully plan the majority of these works in order to minimise any disruption to customers.

“We would like to apologise in advance for any inconvenience caused during these works, and thank our customers for their patience and support in getting them completed as quickly as possible.”

The work will be carried out in a series of phases, the first of which will take place on Westgate and last around four weeks.

During this phase, three-way temporary traffic lights will be placed on Westgate between Spofforth Hill and Crossley Street from Monday January 9 for around one week, and will be manually operated between 6.30am and 7pm.

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Bus stops located within the lights will be temporarily suspended and moved towards the Spofforth Hill roundabout.

From Monday January 16, a one-way road closure will be introduced on Westgate affecting inbound traffic travelling from Harrogate, and will be in place for around 10 days.

For traffic travelling from Wetherby town centre, access to Crossley Street via Caxton Street will still be available or alternatively traffic can continue onto and around Spofforth Hill roundabout.

For traffic travelling towards Wetherby from Harrogate and Linton, an alternative diversion route will be in place via Crossley Street, St James Street, North Street, High Street and Market Place.

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There will be no right-hand turn at the junction of Crossley Street and Westgate for traffic travelling towards Harrogate from Wetherby, however access to Crossley Street will be available via Caxton Street or by continuing around Spofforth Hill Roundabout.

From Monday January 23, two-way temporary traffic lights will be placed on Westgate between the junctions of Caxton Street and Bank Street.

The lights will be manually controlled between 6.30am and 7pm and are expected to be in place for two weeks as work progresses in 100m sections until complete.

Phase two will begin on Monday February 6 and last around three weeks.

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Throughout this time there will be a full road closure on Bank Street between 8am and 4pm.

NGN’s Customer Care officers will liaise with local businesses for delivery arrangements and are making arrangements for access to the church.

The third and final phase will begin on Monday February 27 and last around two weeks.

During this final phase there will be a road closure in place on The Shambles from Monday February 27 for one week.

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NGN will discuss access for deliveries with affected businesses in advance of the road closure.

There will also be a full road closure on Cross Street for one week from Monday March 6, however access will be maintained via High Street and Market Place.

The company said it expected there would be some delays to bus services throughout the work but that all bus companies had been notified and will be kept informed.

NGN engineers will be working seven days a week between 8am and 6pm but pedestrian access will be maintained at all times.