In April of this year, SGN began a 10-month project to upgrade 5km of the local gas network in the East King Street area at a cost of £470,000. The second phase of the project – which was set to run from September 2014 to February 2015 – will be halted to enable SGN engineers to start a four month project on Main Road, Cardross. The work on East King Street area is due to relaunch in April 2015.

Councillors criticised a ‘lack of communication’ by SGN at a Helensburgh and Lomond Area Committee meeting on Tuesday, when two representatives of the gas company informed elected members of the plan to dig an unknown number of holes along Main Road, Cardross, after the site was subject to a £225,000 upgrade in the summer of 2012.

Cllr Ellen Morton, the council’s deputy leader said: “We were not best pleased when they came back and said they were going to be disrupting the community again by digging up bits of the new road. It is less than satisfactory.” Representatives from SGN say they will ‘keep excavation work to a minimum’ during the project to upgrade the low pressure pipe. During the work a large plastic pipe will be inserted in the existing metal pipe, and holes will also need to be drilled along the road to connect the domestic supply to the road-side properties. The works will stretch from Cardross Golf Club to Reay Avenue, and then from Darleith Road to Geilston.

Traffic lights will be in operation throughout the project and SGN are expected to repair any dug-up areas to the middle carriage to minimise the ‘patchwork quilt’ effect.

Speaking after the meeting, councillor Ellen Morton, the council’s policy lead for road and amenity services, told the Advertiser that when SGN upgraded the a large high pressure pipe at the site several year ago, the council were assured that gas works in Cardross were finished.

Cllr Morton continued: “There has been a lack of communication from SGN. I asked representatives from SGN to attend the last area committee meeting however they weren’t able to give members the level of detail they wanted. We have asked them to pick up a better communication link with the council and also the community councils.” Hannah Adam, spokeswoman for SGN, said the existing metal gas mains are reaching the end of their useful life and need to be replaced with a modern plastic pipe which has a minimum lifespan of 80 years.

She added: “This will ensure a continued safe and reliable gas supply to the local area for many years to come. We appreciate this is a busy road and are planning this project in close consultation with Argyll and Bute Council to minimise disruption. We will be providing local residents and businesses with detailed information about what to expect with this work and we’ll engage with them throughout the project.” When the council resurfaced the road in 2012 at a cost of £225,000, they were not aware that there were any future SGN planned for the site in 2015.

A spokeswoman for Argyll and Bute Council said: “The entire length of the A814 road through the village, between the speed restriction signs, was resurfaced — some 1,500 metres or so.

“Where SGN require to carry out excavation work, the road surface will be reinstated to existing standards, with our prior agreement, and approval by ourselves.” The second phase of the East King Street area works are due to start again in April. They include: Henry Bell Street, Granville Street, East Montrose Street, George Street, Kings Crescent, Adelaide Street, East King Street, and Princes Street East.