Holder view to have you a-gast

Andy Miller has a view of Huddersfield which only a handful of people have ever seen.

The United Utilities network officer is in charge of making sure the town’s one remaining gas holder is in perfect condition to ensure gas supplies never run short.

With the current cold temperatures, demand for gas from Huddersfield homes and businesses is high.

The 127ft giant stores gas and helps meet the enormous peaks in demand that occur in winter. Mr Miller has the job of making sure the holder is in perfect condition and ready for use.

He said: “In winter there can be as much as five times the amount of gas flowing through the mains than in summer. When everyone wakes up in the morning or gets home from school or work, demand can be so high that we need to have some extra gas stored in case we need it.

“That’s where the gas holders are so important. We fill them up overnight, when there’s gas to spare, and they empty during the day when demand is higher.”

The holder was originally built in 1916 by W C Holmes and then rebuilt by Clayton & Co in 1968. It is column guided and holds nearly five million cubic feet of gas (or 127,000 cubic metres).

Mr Miller added: “You do need a head for heights in this job. But once at the top you get fantastic views of Huddersfield, the Peak District and over to Bradford.”

There were originally five gas holders at Huddersfield, which have been demolished over the years as more gas becomes stored in underground pipelines. Gas production ceased in the town in the late 1960s.