Case - Fulham Gas Holder Site

Landowner National Grid was granted planning permission by the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in November 2014 to dismantle five of the six gas holders at Imperial Road, Fulham.

By removing the gas holders, National Grid will make way for the long-term regeneration of the site.

The 4, Grade II listed buildings on the site, including gas holder No. 2 – the world’s oldest gas holder – will be preserved and incorporated into a new outline master plan for the site.

This plan will set out a long-term vision for the redevelopment of the site with new homes, shops, offices and public spaces.

The dismantling works are an important first step towards regenerating the site and delivering an exciting future for the Imperial Road area, in the heart of Fulham.

Alan Bite*, AVK UK Limited, Product Manager, said, "We are delighted to have been awarded this supply contract for the ‘Fulham Gas Holder Site Regeneration Project,’ it is an important step in the London Regeneration programme. We have already successfully supported National Grid on the ‘Battersea Gas Holder Project’ and will continue to work closely together on further London regeneration gas holder schemes."

As part of the solution the AVK Donkin engineering design team based in Chesterfield, worked closely with National Grid and Elster to ensure that the design was a resilient one that would ensure the longevity of the project.

Alan continued, "The first key challenge for us was to ensure that the valves could seal bi-directionally for this project. This is because uniquely, testing and operational flow is in opposite directions, thus requiring a 100% gas tight seal in both. The AVK team succeeded in redesigning the valves to achieve this.

The second challenge was to make the valves suitable to be fitted in either vertical or horizontal orientations; also at varying installation depths. The AVK design solution to this challenge was to supply rollers to support the valve doors, and also bevel gear boxes where appropriate."

*Alan Bite retired from AVK UK in April 2019 after 38 years of dedicated service and was very instrumental in this project.  Andy Hatton, Regional Manager - Gas, is the new contact for AVK Gas Projects.