Yorkshire Water has launched a £1.5 million project to replace 5.7km of water mains in the Richmond area, with work officially starting today, Monday 16 February.

The scheme, targeting West Layton and Gayles, is designed to enhance the reliability of the local drinking water supply, decrease leakage, and mitigate the risk of future bursts. This project forms a component of Yorkshire Water's broader £8.3 billion investment strategy for the region over the next five years.

Contract partner United Infrastructure is carrying out the pipework replacements across four specific locations: West Street in Gayles, and Collier Lane, West Lane, and Greenless Lane in West Layton.

Nichola Fairbairn, project manager at Yorkshire Water, said: "We are undertaking a huge upgrade to our clean water infrastructure, with 238km of mains set to be replaced by April this year. This forms part of a wider £406m investment in replacing more than 1,000km of water mains across the region by 2030."

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The utility company is prioritising the renewal of ageing or poor-performing assets that are frequently prone to supply interruptions and bursts. In North Yorkshire alone, the investment programme aims to replace more than 90km of mains within its first year.

Nichola added: "Once we're finished, bursts and potential loss of supply in the area will be much less likely, and we'll be delivering the quality and reliability of service that our customers expect.

"We'll be working quickly and doing everything that we can to keep disruption to the community to a minimum whilst we deliver this important work – and thank everyone in the area for their patience in advance."

Local residents have already been notified regarding potential localised disruption during the construction phase. This initiative follows the completion of similar successful mains replacement schemes in North Yorkshire, including projects in Sutton, Grassington, and the area from Thirn to Thornton.

By 2030, Yorkshire Water intends for this wider infrastructure programme to significantly bolster both its physical assets and the overall customer experience across the county.