ROADWORKS in Penarth town centre have finally finished ahead of the busy Christmas period.

Wales and West Utilities worked through both Sunday and Monday night to re-lay Windsor Road after essential gas mains replacement work had been undertaken.

The work in the town centre is part of a wider £1.7m investment scheme in the area which began back in June this year. The scheme involves the replacement of more than 13km of gas mains and is essential for the safety and security of gas supplies to people and businesses in the area.

A spokesman from Wales and West Utilities (WWU) said: “It is part of the company’s, multi million pound, 30-year replacement programme across Wales and the south west of England, where old metal pipes, within 30 metres of buildings, are being replaced with highly durable, non-corroding plastic pipes with a lifespan of more than 80 years.

Work will continue to take place outside the town centre, up to December 24, on the following roads around Penarth: Baron Road, Baron Close, Dyserth Road, Meliden Road, Stanwell Road, Archer Road, Lavernock Road;, Victoria Road, Salisbury Avenue, Victoria Sq, Salisbury Close and Cwrt Y Vil Rd.

The sites will be secured until WWU return to work after Christmas, with the full project set to be completed by March 2014.

Francis Kirk, WWU Project Manager, said:

“Work in the town centre was scheduled to try and avoid major local events and busy times of the year for Penarth. Hard work, careful planning and co-ordination with Vale of Glamorgan Street works Department has meant that we can leave site on schedule to allow the town centre to benefit from a period of time before Christmas without gas mains replacement work. We appreciate that work of this kind is disruptive, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank the local community for their patience whilst this essential work has been carried out.”

Ken Evans, Routine Maintenance Manager for Vale of Glamorgan council, added: “The council has worked very closely with WWU to ensure all their works were planned and co-ordinated with other highway and utility works in the area. This was to ensure that there was no conflict of works and minimum disruption was caused to the public. This process was evident with the recent Carriageway resurfacing of Windsor Road by the council immediately after the completion of the gas main renewal works in the area.”

Regular updates about the roads that are to be worked on can be found on: www.wwutilities.co.uk