Reading Bridge closure on 29 June for 6 weeks

Urgent gas mains replacement – Reading Bridge, George Street

Bridge closure: from Monday 29 June for approximately six weeks

 

 

A message from SGN:

"Firstly, please accept our apologies for such short notification of the work outlined below.  Following the tragic events in Reading last weekend, we were requested to hold on sending out wider communications until now.   

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the people of Reading.

 

"As I’m sure you are already be aware, SGN have been given the approval to commence urgent work to replace two strategic gas mains on George Street/Reading Bridge.   The gas mains being replaced are mandatory gas pipes that supply Reading and Caversham and have a priority rating to be replaced.  We will be replacing the old metal gas pipes with a new plastic pipes that will ensure we can continue to provide gas safely and efficiently to the local area long into the future.  Their replacement will also significantly reduce the risk of future leaks resulting in disruptive emergency works and potential unplanned closures of Reading Bridge.

 

"You may recall we attempted to replace one of the gas mains across the bridge last year, following further on-site investigation and discovering there was a potential of losing local gas supplies, our project team immediately stopped work, sending the project back to our network specialist teams to be re-engineered.   Following their direction, we will be now be replacing both mains to ensure we can maintain the network integrity and supply for the community.  

 

"Work on the bridge will start on Monday 29 June for approximately six weeks, with the closure in place for the duration. There will be no vehicle access across Reading Bridge, access to George Street will be from the north side of the bridge via the B3345 and a signed diversion will be in place.

 

"Access across the bridge will be maintained for pedestrians and cyclists.  To support social distancing guidelines, there will be two pedestrian walkways and two cycle paths across the bridge.  Each pathway/cycleway will be clearly signposted with the direction of traffic flow.  

 

"We appreciate this work will be disruptive for road users at a crucial time for the town returning to some normality following COVID 19 lockdown.     You may also question why this work couldn’t have taken place sooner during the full lockdown.  Like all organisations SGN have been following Government guidelines and only returning to planned works when advised it is safe to do so for the public and our engineers.  To protect our workforce and operational teams, SGN have only continued with emergency work during the lockdown.

 

"At the request of the local authority, we have resourced this project to bring forward these works to allow at least some of work to be carried out whilst the road networks are still quieter than normal.  It is also vital that we carry out this work during the summer months to ensure we can maintain network reliability.  Carrying this work out in cooler months would put significant pressure on the gas network and local supplies to Reading and Caversham.  

 

"I would like to reassure you, SGN are working closely with UK Government and public health bodies to make sure we carry out our project in line with all current coronavirus safety guidance. We have no plans to interrupt gas supplies to homes or businesses, and our engineers won’t be calling at residents’ homes other than in the case of an emergency where strict social distancing measures will be adhered to.

 

"We have extra safety precautions in place to protect our colleagues and our communities from the virus. Our colleagues will be keeping to social distancing guidelines on our sites and we’d ask communities to keep their distance too. There’s more information about our coronavirus response on our website: www.sgn.co.uk/coronavirus

 

"We will be working a seven-day week with support from additional teams. Due to local environmental restrictions, night-time works will be kept to a minimum and only when necessary. We would like to reassure you that our engineers will be working as quickly and as safely as possible to complete this work without delay.

 

"If you’d like to get in touch with us about this project, please call our Customer Service team on 0800 912 1700 who will be happy to direct your enquiry. There’s more information about our coronavirus plans, as well as other ways to contact us, on our website: sgn.co.uk/coronavirus."

 

sgn.co.uk

Follow on Twitter: @SGNgas

Deed of Easement for gas infrastructure at MPF

This afternoon Reading Borough Council has published a Decision Book Report on a Deed of Easement for gas infrastructure at Mapledurham Playing Fields. This relates to the lease of land for The Heights primary school.

Looking north across The Heights' site on MPF (24/05/20)

The report states that "It is the decision of the Executive Director for Economic Growth & Neighbourhood Services in consultation with the Lead Councillor for Culture, Heritage & Recreation that having noted the Property Report and the Deed of Easement and the views of the members of the Mapledurham Trustee Sub Committee to enter into the Deed of Easement attached to this report as Appendix 2."

The report can be accessed here.

Liaison Officer hired for construction of The Heights at Mapledurham Playing Fields

Kier, the DfE's contractor building The Heights school at Mapledurham Playing Fields, has taken the unusual step of appointing a liaison officer to handle communications with residents and other stakeholders about the construction works.

I welcome the creation of this role which will be beneficial for our community. The works have been receiving considerable interest with daily correspondence and calls from some residents. Having a dedicated person handling communications should enable the works to progress more smoothly for all concerned.

Kier has appointed Ajit Jajh, who is known as AJ. His email is: theheightsliaison@outlook.com 

It is worth being aware that AJ’s role is limited to the construction works. He is not a spokesman for The Heights school. So if anyone has a question, request or complaint about the building of the school, deliveries, noise, etc, do get in contact with him. 

Reading BC's update on works at Mapledurham Playing Fields/Pavilion/The Heights

You can read Reading Borough Council's latest update about works at Mapledurham Playing Fields, including at the Pavilion and the construction of The Heights here.

The information sets out who to contact if you have a question about the construction of the school, including noise control.

It also covers the hours of work refurbishing the Pavilion, details about the noise monitoring and provides the monitoring results.

New Grant Funding to Support Reading's Small Businesses

If you have a small company, could you benefit from Government funding to help you through the covid-19 pandemic?

Here's a press release from Reading Borough Council with details:

SMALL businesses across Reading have a two-week window to apply for new grant funding to help support them through the Covid-19 crisis.

Local firms have until Sunday June 14th to apply for Reading Borough Council’s new Discretionary Grant Fund Scheme. They can check if they meet the eligibility criteria and complete an application form at www.reading.gov.uk/discretionarygrantfund

Reading expects to be given around £1.4 million by Government as part of a new national scheme created to support certain small businesses which previously fell outside the scope of the main business grant funds scheme.

The Council’s scheme closely follows central Government guidance in terms of criteria and which businesses are eligible. Due to the limited funds available, the Council fully expects demand for grants to significantly outweigh supply. Grant values will therefore only be finalised once the two week application window has shut,  at which point the Council can establish demand, carry out the relevant checks and ensure financial support reaches the maximum number of small local businesses in Reading.

A  two-tier payment approach has been designed by the Council based on the estimated rateable value (RV) of businesses. No grants will be awarded without an application being made and incomplete claims or claims received after June 14th will not be considered. At this stage it is anticipated payments to successful businesses will be made by BACS on week commencing 22nd June.