Why Wadebridge’s Polmorla Road is closing for a month

Anyone who uses Polmorla Road to get around Wadebridge is about to need a new route. From next Monday, engineers move in to dig up the road as part of a project to replace the gas pipes running beneath the town, with a second closure on nearby Fairmead Road running alongside it.

When the work starts and how long it runs

The work is being carried out by Wales & West Utilities, the company that owns and maintains the gas pipes across Wales and the south west of England. The first phase begins on Monday 7 September and is due to finish by Friday 2 October, with further sections of work to follow after that.

The company says the upgrade is needed to keep gas flowing safely and reliably to homes and businesses in the area for decades to come.

The roads set to close

The work has been planned together with Cornwall Council, and it has been agreed that Polmorla Road will close between 1 Market Place and Omil Court. Fairmead Road will also be closed, between its junctions with Polmorla Road and Olde Market Court, for the whole of the first phase.

Part of a much bigger spend under Wadebridge’s streets

The Polmorla Road scheme is one piece of a wider £535,000 investment Wales & West Utilities is making in Wadebridge’s gas network over the next two years. Across that programme, more than 1.7 kilometres of gas pipes will be upgraded around the town as the company replaces the older pipework beneath its streets.

What Wales & West Utilities says

Abby Smith, who is managing the work for Wales & West Utilities, said the investment was about keeping the network safe, reliable and fit for the future for the customers it serves, and that the company would be keeping the local community updated as work progresses, working with the council and other partners to keep disruption to a minimum.

Abby said the company understood its work could cause disruption, but that it was essential to maintain a resilient gas network that households and businesses can rely on every day, adding that finishing the work now should mean the company can avoid coming back and disrupting the area again for decades, barring any emergency repairs.

📷Credit: Wales & West Utilities