Redcar hydrogen pilot: Opponents urge council to get involved

Coatham is one of the areas of Redcar earmarked for the pilot

Opponents of a pilot project to replace home gas supplies with hydrogen say they are being "kept in the dark" and want their council and MP to intervene.

Redcar on Teesside is one of two areas bidding to host the trial.

After hosting a meeting this week in Ellesmere Port, also on the shortlist, that area's council said the pilot would need public support to proceed.

Steve Rudd, from Redcar, said he was "mightily impressed" with the Cheshire council's calls for public involvement.

He claimed Northern Gas Networks (NGN), who would be running the pilot in Redcar, had not been able to answer all questions despite the fact bids had to be submitted by the end of the month.

Some residents knew about the scheme but "assumed that it won't affect them because they get their gas from British Gas or EDF", he said.

Mr Rudd also said some "citizen's panel" meetings arranged by NGN had few attendees, "with the bulk of residents being kept in the dark".

'Extensive door knocking'

Another resident, John Mudd, said many people mistook NGN's early leaflets for junk mail and ignored them, believing the pilot would not affect them if they did not want to change supplier.

He also said some initially supported the scheme because of the free new appliances they would be given.

"In a very poor part of the country this appealed to a lot of people straight away and a lot thought nothing of it and welcomed getting the free equipment," he said.

NGN said it had a customer hub on Redcar High Street and had written to residents inviting them to drop-in sessions and a consultation event.

There had also been "extensive door knocking in the area", leaflets and a Facebook group, it added.

The government wants to phase out natural gas boilers by 2035, as homes account for about 17% of the UK's greenhouse gas emissions.

The pilot will involve cutting off some homes' natural gas supply entirely and replacing it with hydrogen fed through to new appliances.

Residents unhappy with hydrogen have the option of an electric alternative but details are not finalised.

NGN said Redcar and Cleveland College would become the first college to use 100% hydrogen if the pilot went ahead

Ellesmere Port resident Kate Grannell said Cheshire West and Chester Council had previously been "compliant and complacent" and the public meeting on Tuesday showed how "uneducated" it was.

So its agreement to host the event was a "great public turning point", she said.

The authority said it would now ask gas distributer Cadent, which would run the pilot, to meet five tests, including securing public backing, "to ensure the council's continued support for this programme".

The council also wants commitments on price, safety and sourcing the hydrogen from renewables rather than burning fossil fuels. It said it planned to write to the government and hold a vote later in the summer.

Some residents on Teesside are calling for Redcar and Cleveland Council to do the same.

Mr Rudd said "any input would be a good start".

He asked why there had been no prior consultation with residents before Redcar was chosen as a potential pilot area and whether the council had sought independent advice.

The council said it had no plans for a public meeting.

A spokesperson said it was a government scheme and NGN, which would run it if its bid was successful, was consulting with residents.

Redcar's Conservative MP, Jacob Young, said the pilot could bring "hundreds of millions of pounds of investment to our area along with the creation of hundreds of jobs".

Any change would have to comply with gas safety regulations and be governed by the Health and Safety Executive, he added.