£2.2m Watermains Upgrade Gets Underway in the Old Park Area of North Belfast

12 March 2014 9:54

NI Water is currently engaged in an ongoing process of improving and upgrading the water supply infrastructure throughout Northern Ireland. Work is about to commence in the Old Park area of North Belfast, representing a £2.2 million package of work for the area. The announcement of this work is good news for the local area, as the upgraded water mains will improve the quality, reliability and security of the local water supply, while reducing leakage and improving pressure in the area.

Work will initially get underway on Upper Meadows Street in late March for 3 weeks. The scheme will then progress into the following streets: Lepper Street, Spamount Street, Fortfield Place and Hillman Street throughout April 2014. Works will then progress in the wider Newlodge area until June 2014. It is anticipated that the overall programme of work will be completed by December 2014. Signage will be in place and the public will be notified of any diversions as necessary.

NI Water will hold an open information session on Thursday 20th March from 3pm-7.30pm in the Star Neighbourhood Centre, 79-83 Hillman Street, BT15 2FS to update residents further on the programme of works. Everyone is welcome to call in at any stage and get further information on the scheme.

Gary McFadden NI Water Project Manager said:

“This is a major investment in the watermains infrastructure for the Old Park area, which will provide benefits to customers for many years to come.

“The scheme, which will get underway in the coming weeks will be especially welcomed by people living in the Old Park area, who will benefit directly from improvements in the quality and reliability of the service.”

The scale of the ongoing watermains project has required extensive work on local roads. However, where possible, we will use state of the art low-dig technology throughout this programme of work which will enable us to lay many of the mains without the need to open large trenches.

“NI Water will, in co-operation with DRD Roads Service, do everything possible to keep any disruption to a minimum. We will also work with Translink to ensure that public transport services function with minimum disruption.”  

NI Water and our contractor Farrans Construction will carry out letter drops in affected areas to advise those affected by this work. Our customer relations team can also be contacted via Waterline on 08457 440088. Customers with any questions on the scheme should quote “Farrans Utilities Water Mains Rehabilitation Programme”.