National Gas announces £870m of regional investment

National Gas has announced a large regional investment, including in new headquarters in Peterborough.

The company, which builds and manages the country's gas infrastructure, plans to install new equipment at its facility north-west of the city.

National Gas said it would be spending £870m over five years in the region and the investment would "support critical infrastructure projects... to help us deliver a safe and resilient network".

The Peterborough headquarters will serve as the central operational hub for National Gas's regional activities.

The move is expected to create 250 jobs and safeguard 300 existing ones, the company said.

National Gas's largest site is at Bacton, on the Norfolk coast, where a third of Britain's gas supply enters comes ashore.

Other planned projects as part of the investment include updating compressor stations in King's Lynn and Diss, in Norfolk.

Announcing the investment, Industry Minister Chris McDonald said he wanted to highlight the importance of gas supplies to the country "when it's really quite cold and we're all used to flicking a switch to heat our homes".

Regarding renewable energy, he said the government had a "really ambitious plan... but we've also been clear that there's an ongoing role for gas".

He added: "The gas network is really important – at peak times it moves four times more energy round the UK than the electricity network does," he said.

Shabina Qayyum, Labour leader of Peterborough City Council, said she was "absolutely delighted" the city would be at the forefront of National Gas's operations in the region.

"This demonstrates our city's enhanced standing in the eyes of big employers," she said.

"They recognise we have the infrastructure in place and are going to get bigger and better in years to come."

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