As the North of England’s gas distributor, Northern Gas Networks (NGN)  keep 2.7 million homes and businesses cooking on gas in the North East, Northern Cumbria and much of Yorkshire, through a network of underground pipes.

NGN alongside the Federation of Master Builders (North), are launching a new safety campaign targeting built over services.

Built over services are where a live gas supply has been ‘built over’, usually as a result of a house extension, or similar structural changes to the exterior of a property.

It is an unsafe situation to have a live gas supply running under a property.  There can be a small risk if gas escapes from the service pipe directly into the property above.  Also as the service pipe runs up to the Emergency Control Valve, there is no quick and easy way to isolate the gas supply or dig down onto the gas supply to physically isolate it should there be a need.

If NGN find that a gas service has been ‘built-over’, we have an obligation to take action to move the gas service in order to be compliant with the 1996 Pipeline Safety Regulations.

To move a ‘built-over’ gas service (known as a gas supply alteration) can cause a large amount of inconvenience for customers.  It is a chargeable job and can also be hugely disruptive to customers in terms of the time it takes to get the work done, and also the upheaval of the physical works on site which are much more complex.

Therefore there are a number of visual checks you can use up front to establish if a live supply would need moving, such as;

•  Meter box position
• Upright service
• Gas Valve box
• Visible scarring in line with gas service

If you believe a gas service needs moving contact us on 0800 040 7766 (option 2) or visit the Get Connected section on our website.