Mains replacement scheme starts in Cross Green and Richmond Hill

Yorkshire Water has begun a £3.2m project to replace 4.6km of water mains in the Cross Green and Richmond Hill areas of Leeds to improve the resilience and reliability of the area’s network. 

The project has started on Upper Accommodation Road and Cross Green Lane and will eventually move onto other streets in the area: Clark Lane, Kippax Place, Shannon Street, Plaid Row, Shannon Road, Greenfield Road, Back Cross Green Crescent, and Pontefract Lane. 

Victoria Corbett, project manager at Yorkshire Water, said: “This is an area that has seen a number of burst water mains recently, so it is a priority for our mains replacement programme. Replacing the mains will improve the reliability of water supplies, reduce leakage and prevent further bursts, helping us to deliver a better service for our customers.  

“This scheme forms part of a £406m upgrade to our clean water network, which will see us replacing more than 1,000km of water mains across the region over the next five years. Our programme got off to a great start in 2025, and we have already replaced more than 120km of water mains in the region, with much more to come in the next four years.” 

Contract partners O’Connor Utilities are expected to complete the work in autumn 2026. 

Local residents have been informed of any localised disruption. 

In 2025, Yorkshire Water replaced over 120km of mains in Yorkshire, across more than 60 schemes – estimated to be saving 1.24 million litres in leakage every day. 

The investment in the clean water network is part of a wider £8.3bn programme to upgrade infrastructure and improve customer service by 2030.