National Grid engineers have finished work on a £250,000 project to shore up the banks of the River Tame after erosion threatened the safety of a high pressure gas pipe running between Stockport and Denton.
The banks of the river at Reddish Vale had become eroded and this posed a risk to the 24 inch diameter iron pipe which is one of the main pipes supplying gas to the Manchester area.
After discussions with the Environment Agency and Stockport Council, National Grid drew up plans to improve the river bank by using rock armour which involved bringing in a team of divers to do work to install it where the pipe crossed the river bed.
The work garnered the praise of the Friends of Reddish Vale and the group was so impressed with the work done by the National Grid team that they have arranged the installation of a plaque on the site to mark completion of the work. National Grid has also agreed to made a donation towards the cost of planting trees along a 110 metre stretch of the river bank to further improve its stability.
James Massey, Network Supervisor for National Grid said: “This gas pipe is a vital link in the network of high pressure mains supplying the Stockport, Denton and Manchester area. The flow of the river had eroded the banks and this could, in time, have caused damage to the pipe. We’ve now managed to shore them up so that they support the pipe. We’ve worked closely with the Friends of Reddish Vale and they have taken a keen interest in our project. We’ve pleased that they are happy with the work we have done and are delighted to be able to support their work to carry out tree planting along the river banks.
Dr John Cameron from Friends of the Vale said “Friends of the Vale acknowledges the financial and other contributions that National Grid, Northern Divers and Stockport Council made beyond the minimum requirements that enabled a sustainable outcome to be achieved over the entire length of affected riverbank. We also appreciate the active involvement and co-operative approach taken by the Environment Agency at all stages.”
