Resident fears unfixed gas leak in Station Road, New Romney, is 'disaster waiting to happen'
Published: 14:39, 21 March 2023
Updated: 11:09, 22 March 2023
A resident fears a gas leak which has still not been fixed weeks after the area was fenced off is a "disaster is waiting to happen".
Wendy Nevard claims gets a whiff of it when she walks over the zebra crossing in Station Road, New Romney, at the junction with the high street.
She says she has noticed it "for years" - but gas distribution company SGN says it was first made aware of a "minor" leak 35 days ago and it is prioritising other emergency works.
Mrs Nevard said: "It could cause a major disaster. It really has been concerning me for quite some time now.
"The smell is right next to the Springwood Court Residential Home - I was thinking the worst could happen."
Ms Nevard, who has lived in Littlestone for more than 40 years, wants the leak near the care home and close to The Marsh Academy to be fixed as soon as possible.
She says she has reported the issue multiple times to SGN.
"The location of it has been difficult to find as there is a large confluence of pipework at this junction," Ms Nevard said.
But on February 13, she managed to pinpoint the exact point of the leak.
She said: "It was coming from three manholes just in front of the 'no entry' sign into Church Road. I immediately phoned the gas emergency line when I got home."
Within hours, SGN attended the scene and placed barriers and roadwork signs around the manholes.
Ms Nevard was relieved and thought the problem was being solved - but a month on, the leak has still not been fixed.
"I am still very worried about it..."
"It's been over a month on now and the roadwork barriers are still up," said Ms Nevard.
"I have phoned the local gas office and they can only tell me that the problem is being dealt with and they can say no more.
"I am still very worried about it."
When asked about the issue, a spokesman for SGN said the company is aware of the situation.
"We're currently monitoring a minor gas leak in Station Road, New Romney," he said.
"Due to a high-volume of priority gas emergency work in this region, we've not yet began our repairs in Station Road, but our engineers are monitoring the site to ensure everyone's safety.
"We use risk scores to determine which gas leaks we need to prioritise, and this work will be scheduled for repair as soon as possible.
"Please remember to call the National Gas Emergency number on 0800 111 999 If you smell gas."
More by this author
Oliver Leonard