Road and pavement works are to take place across York city centre as Northern Powergrid is about to start a £1 million plus programme to upgrade existing substations and install new underground cabling.

The move is part of a three-year programme of vital improvements that supports the City of York’s plans to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2030.

The work will also support the installation of more electric vehicle charging points in the city centre and improve the resilience of the electricity network against flood events.

As part of this programme, work will be ongoing on James Street until Thursday July 13 while Northern Powergrid installs new underground cables to link its existing substation on Melrosegate to a new substation located next to the bus depot on James Street. As well as increasing the resilience of the local power network, this will also support the ongoing roll out of electric public transport and waste recycling.

Traffic lights will be operating on James Street from near the bus depot to the junction of Hazel Court until the end of June 2023. Then, to minimise disruption, Northern Powergrid will be drilling underneath the roadway to lay cables along the rest of the route between the Hazel Court junction to just past the entrance to Morrisons on James Street.

Another piece of work takes place on Skeldergate from Monday June 19 June for up to two weeks while Northern Powergrid lays new underground electricity cables on the section of road between LNER’s offices and the Bonding Warehouse. Marshalls will be on site from 7am until 7pm to manage traffic flow.

This work forms part of a wider scheme of work to be delivered in 2024 that will support the installation of more city centre electric vehicle charging points and improve flood resilience. Northern Powergrid is working closely with the council and is committed to finishing this small section of work on Skeldergate ahead of the council’s resurfacing works in July 2023.

Pedestrian access will be maintained at all times and Northern Powergrid is installing clear signage to ensure that people know that businesses are still open.

The power company says there are no plans to turn off anyone’s power and it is unlikely that access to premises will be needed.

Further Northern Powergrid schemes to support green projects in York are in development for delivery between 2023 and 2025. The company says more information will be shared when available.

Amanda White, Northern Powergrid’s Customer Service Manager for North Yorkshire said: “These works are essential in enabling City of York’s decarbonisation goals. That said, we know our work can be disruptive and we do everything we can to keep this to a minimum, hence we’re drilling underground for part of these works to reduce the impact on road users.”