The works which can currently be seen at the Corse site – the initial application site on the west side of the B4211 – have nothing to do with NG’s application for a PRI at Tirley.

NG is under a duty to test the large pipeline which they have built from Milford Haven to Tirley. They do this by putting into the pipeline at Milford Have a large cylindrical object containing sophisticated electronic test equipment. It’s called a Pipeline Inspection Gauge, or PIG for short.

The PIG is forced by the pressure of the gas behind it along the pipeline, taking measurements as it goes.

However, the PIG must be recovered. Given the high pressure of the gas and the weight of the PIG this is not an easy operation

A PIG trap is required, a large construction placed around the pipe. At the place chosen by NG in the present case, the pipeline is underground and therefore there must necessarily be much excavation work in order to gain access.

We have been told by NG that this work will be performed about once every 15 years.

NG is under a legal duty to conduct these tests and has a general power to perform the work without obtaining Planning Consent for individual tests. However, a maximum period is laid down within which the land must be made good.

NG expect to have completed their works and re-instated the land by early summer.