Gunnislake environmental improvement work.

Welcome to our drop in session. Here you can find out more information about our plans to environmentally improve the site of the former Gunnislake gasworks at the end of Kingswood Road. We hope you find the information provided today helpful. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask one of our colleagues.

YOUR GAS EMERGENCY AND PIPELINE SERVICE Who are we?

We are Wales & West Utilities, your local gas emergency and pipeline service. Every day our skilled and dedicated colleagues do their very best to keep the 7.5 million people we serve safe and warm, with a gas network they can rely on and a level of service they can trust.

We don't sell gas, instead we use our extensive network of pipes to transport gas to homes and businesses throughout the south west of and Wales. We respond to gas emergencies, and we invest £2 million a week across our network, connecting new properties and upgrading old metal pipes to new long lasting plastic ones, making sure the communities we serve receive a safe and reliable gas supply for generations to come.

It's a vital service, and one we are extremely proud to deliver.

YOUR GAS EMERGENCY AND PIPELINE SERVICE What are we doing in Gunnislake? We are responsible for the environmental condition of sites that were operated by our predecessor companies. The site of the former Gunnislake gasworks at the end of Kingswood Road is one of them. The gasworks closed in the late 1940s/early 1950s and the majority of the above ground structure was removed to be replaced by a gasholder station and a gas governor - part of the control system of the gas network. The gasholder station was removed in 1974. The governor has recently been moved to a different part of the village so we are taking the opportunity to environmentally improve the site and clean up the byproducts of gas production and gas storage that are still in the ground. We have worked closely with Council and the Environment Agency - the environmental regulators, in planning this work.

YOUR GAS EMERGENCY AND PIPELINE SERVICE The history of Gunnislake gasworks.

Gunnislake gasworks was built by the Gunnislake Gas & Coke Company Limited and opened in late February/early March 1872, an event celebrated by a fireworks display. The works produced ‘town gas’ from coal which was delivered to site via the Tamar Manure Navigation Canal until 1915 and then by rail. The gas that was produced was used as we use it today – for heating and cooking. It was also used for lighting, both streetlights and in homes, until the late 1930s/early 1940s. The last building to have gas light in the area was Gunnislake Station – we think until 1968. The gasworks included areas for the production, purification and storage of gas – including a gasholder to the west of the site.

YOUR GAS EMERGENCY AND PIPELINE SERVICE The history of Gunnislake gasworks. After World War 2, gasworks across the country were rationalised. Smaller, more rural works like Gunnislake were closed and replaced with gasholder stations that were supplied by gas from larger works in city and town centres. We understand Gunnislake works stopped producing gas in 1949, and the majority of the above ground structures were later removed to make way for a gasholder station with a new, larger gasholder on the site of the old gasworks to the east, and a gas governor – part of the control system of the gas network, which kept the gas to the local community flowing. We don’t have many pictures of the gasholder station. The two below are the ones we have. We know the gentleman with the guitar was Brian Peters, and we know that he sadly died in a road traffic incident. We think the picture was taken in the mid-1950s. The other, we understand, is from 1969. We don’t know anything about the people, or the dog, in the picture. In the 1960s and 1970s, North Sea gas came to the UK, and by the early 1970s, the gasholder station in Gunnislake was no longer needed to maintain a safe and reliable supply of gas to homes in the area. In 1974 the gasholder was decommissioned and removed, but the governor stayed in place. The governor has recently been moved to a different part of the village, so now we are taking the opportunity to environmentally improve the site, and clean up the by-products of gas production and gas storage that are still in the ground.

YOUR GAS EMERGENCY AND PIPELINE SERVICE Planning.

In the last few weeks we have been examining the ground conditions of the site. Now this is completed, we have finalised our plans to environmentally improve the site and clean up the by-products of gas production and gas storage that are still in the ground.

The work will start by delivering welfare cabins and other equipment before we start to break up and remove the concrete from the site. We’ll then start removing material and old structures, including an underground tank to the east, on the lower part of the site, and the old gasholder to the west, on the upper part of the site.

Material we remove will be replaced by new material brought in by lorry. Where we can, we will recycle the material and reuse it. Any water in old structures will be pumped out, treated and cleaned before being discharged into the local sewer network.

We will then dig the rest of the site by 300mm and treat the material to make sure the finished site complies with the latest environmental standards. We will carry out soil and groundwater sampling to check that our work meets environmental standards, before finishing the site with gravel. We have no plans to develop the site.

YOUR GAS EMERGENCY AND PIPELINE SERVICE Transport.

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Lorries will be arriving at and leaving our site at the start and end of the work to deliver and take away welfare cabins, equipment, and machinery. These deliveries will be timed to be outside rush hour and the school run.

While we are working, we will be removing material from site and then returning with new material. This will be done by a ‘tipper-grab’ lorry and at most, there will be two movements in each direction per day. On each lorry movement, it will come into the village from the north along Fore Street and turn left at The Square onto Road. The lorry will then turn left into Kingswood Road. As there is nowhere for the lorry to turn around at the bottom of Kingswood Road, it will turn around on Bealswood Road and then reverse down Kingswood Road. The lorry will be driven by an experienced driver, and will be escorted by a four by four vehicle at all times.

YOUR GAS EMERGENCY AND PIPELINE SERVICE Health & Safety.

Work of this kind – in which soil and material left over from gas production is exposed after being covered for many years – can smell. During our working hours of 8am and 6pm Monday to Friday, our equipment and the two lorry movements per day may be noisy.

We will do all we can to keep both smell and noise to a minimum.

While working, the site team may be wearing white or blue suits and face masks. Along with hard hats, high visibility vests, boots, gloves and glasses, these are standard for work on former industrial sites.

YOUR GAS EMERGENCY AND PIPELINE SERVICE Next Steps.

We have worked closely with and the Environment Agency – the environmental regulator, in planning this work. We will also work closely with Calstock Parish Council as the work proceeds, to make sure we can get this work finished as safely and as quickly as we can with as little disruption to Gunnislake as possible. The work is being done by our specialist contractors Celtic Englobe, an industry leading and award winning environmental contractor. Their highly trained engineers, scientists and site managers have over 20 years of experience working on sites of this nature. Initial site preparation work started in May, and the main programme of work will start in June and be finished by August. We will leave the site in a tidy and secure condition, and have no plans to develop it.

YOUR GAS EMERGENCY AND PIPELINE SERVICE Thank you...... for visiting our exhibition.

We know that this work will be inconvenient. We will keep you updated on the progress of our work. We always try to make sure we work efficiently, and as safely and as quickly as we can. We take your feedback very seriously and review our plans in light of it.

Please fill in a feedback form and let us know what you think about the information you have seen and heard here today. Our colleagues are available to answer any questions you may have.

Any questions? Feel free to ask the team on site, give us a call on on 02921 678 455 or Freephone 0800 912 2999, or email [email protected]. Alternatively, you can contact us on social media on the details below.

www.wwutilities.co.uk facebook.com/wwutilities @WWUtilities

YOUR GAS EMERGENCY AND PIPELINE SERVICE