National Grid under fire - Company has failed to act on leaking pipe alerts from public
Published: 2 March, 2011
by DAN CARRIER
Heath leaking pipes explosion fears
WALKERS are risking being injured by gas explosions on Hampstead Heath because the company responsible for dealing with leaking pipes is dragging its feet, managers have warned.
Michael Wellbank, chairman of the Heath management committee, has launched a fierce attack on National Grid UK over pipe lines that criss-cross over the popular spot, accusing them of taking too long to resolve leaks that were detected by members of the public.
Walkers claim the problem has been lingering for more than a year. Heath staff were tipped off that there were strong smells of gas last spring, and the National Grid’s engineers investigated. They confirmed that at three sites near the Men’s Pond and Highgate Boating Pond, there could be leaks. One has since been fixed but two other potentially dangerous spots have been discovered – and marked with a simple “no smoking” sign.
The National Grid lay new pipes under parts of the Heath around 35 years ago and Mr Wellbank says these can be traced above ground by a line of dead trees.
He said: “They dug out a very large trench and it has acted as a drain. You can follow it by tracking the dead trees en route where it has taken away water. Now they appear to be leaking and we have asked them to come as a matter of urgency – but progress has been painfully slow.
“If this had been on a street, they'’d have been here in 10 minutes.”
A spokesman for National Grid UK said: “We were called to a number of reported gas escapes in the area over the winter months. These were all dealt with promptly with the necessary repairs being completed. In order to carry out the repairs we had to dig two large excavations. However we were requested by the park to hold off completely refilling these excavations to enable some planting work to take place. This planting could not take place in the winter months due to the weather.
“However we are arranging a meeting with park staff and the council to discuss when the planting can take place, so the excavations can be filled and the land reinstated as soon as possible.”