Springwell Enhancements Project

Hi All, As our Springwell Project progresses, we're committed to keep you informed about what’s happening next and I’ve shared below an update on our working areas and details of some planned road closures. The road closures are needed to facilitate the next phase of the project.

We know that Great Crested Newts are in the general of Bowes Railway Line, but we have paused work at Eighton Banks having discovered them near the Mount Community Centre. It’s likely that they woke early from hibernation due to the warm weather and in response to their presence, we’ve revised our existing (Natural England) Great Crested Newt Licence mitigation measures. We are await re-approval - which we hope is next week - so we can restart the pipelaying work we have planned. I will pop a quick update on here when I know the re-start date for that.

At the site of the reservoir construction, we've begun dismantling some of the metal shuttering frames, revealing the joints between the concrete panels. This marks a significant phase in the construction process as it ensures the structural integrity and waterproofing of the reservoir. Our next concrete pour here is estimated to be in 3 to 4 weeks’ time and I’ll share the date on here for you once it’s confirmed.

From 4 April over at the pipeline section, we’re getting ready for the arrival of a temporary compound and set of cabins on Peareth Hall Road.  The planned location of these was initially planned for Springwell Road but we’ve relocated them due to the complexity of the work and our ongoing efforts to minimising the disruption to you and the wider community. To reduce noise and visual nuisance, the location of the set of cabins will now be set up in the adjacent field furthest away from Peareth Hall Road

At Leam Lane, down the public right of way we’re steaming ahead with the installation of the temporary access track. We are expecting a delivery of site cabins from 11 March which will be in a field alongside the A194, away from Leam Lane.

Upcoming Traffic Management and Road Closures

We've had to schedule various road closures to facilitate the next phases of our project and we’ve taken measures to keep our workforce and our customes safe while reducing – where we can - the impact we know that the traffic management and road closures can have.

On Leam Lane there will be a temporary modification to the existing junction to the public right of way access under 2-way traffic management from 11 March for two weeks.

At Mount Lane there will be two-way traffic lights in place from 15 April for two weeks, followed by a full road closure from 29 April to 24 May, the closure is required to bring the three large diameter inlet/outlet pipes onto the reservoir site North – South through Mount Lane.

A full road closure at Peareth Hall Road is planned from 17 June to 19 July.

At Springwell Road, to lessen the impact during school holidays, a full road closure will be in place from 22 July to 18 August.

I know that these temporary arrangements will mean alternative routes need to be taken and be assured that we’re exploring all options to reduce the impact where we can and mitigate the effects on the local community.

We continue to appreciate your understanding and patience as we continue our work and while we continue to make every effort to minimise disruption, please let us know if you would like to discuss any aspects of the above with our project team by getting in touch via the contact button above.

As a final note I wanted to take this update opportunity to share our recent collaboration with the Mount Community Centre where we've helped to restore their garden footpaths. The project team donated stone which was and transported and installed by our workforce and while it was hard work , it was also a great rewarding day being able to support this local community space and continue with our ongoing commitment to making a positive contribution to Springwell Village and its residents.

Many thanks

Sarah