Work begins to redirect Stannington water main following Lib Dem scrutiny

Local Stannington councillor Penny Baker has welcomed Yorkshire water's upcoming work in Stannington to reroute the water main that burst in December, triggering a 'gas flood' which impacted thousands of households.

The planned work will remove the burst asbestos-concrete pipe and install a new one along a different route, further away from the gas main.

Exploratory work is taking place on Bankfield Lane and Sheldon Road to determine the route of the new main, and the full works are expected to be complete by the end of the month.

The old burst main will be removed for repairs, as part of an independent investigation first demanded by Cllr Baker in the days following the incident.

Yorkshire Water have also provided further clarity on what compensation residents can expect, following correspondence between Cllr Baker and Yorkshire Water's CEO Nicola Shaw.

Every household affected has already been paid £60 automatically in a package of compensation worth over £180,000. Additionally, over 800 claims for expenses above £60 are currently being processed by the company.

Cllr Baker said "I'm pleased to see some real progress towards prevention, compensation, and accountability for this incident, and I thank Yorkshire Water for this. Some residents were off gas for almost three weeks, in very cold conditions - it's only right that they're fairly paid for the disruption they suffered. I’m looking forward to seeing the results of the independent investigation, and hope that the ongoing work is completed as soon as possible.

"This progress wasn't inevitable - initially Yorkshire Water was nowhere to be seen on the ground. Our initial correspondence with them suggested that they were more interested in an internal, behind closed doors investigation, and they are still suggesting that the burst pipe and water ingress may somehow be unconnected.

"We only get compensation and accountability through elected representatives asking questions and holding these companies to account.

"This local issue also contributes to national concern around the conduct of water companies.

"The Lib Dems nationally have demanded Ofwat be abolished and replaced with a tough independent regulator which would ban company bonuses until they invest their profits in fixing our water infrastructure, and I support the party wholeheartedly in this."