Thames Water engineers visit area hit by rain sewage in bid to prevent a repeat. Maida Vale Flood Action group still seek satisfactory conclusion

Published: 12 March 2010
by JAMIE WELHAM

THAMES Water experts have visited homes in Maida Vale to ensure there is no repeat of last summer’s flash-floods that paralysed the area.

It follows sustained pressure from Maida Flood Action, a campaign group formed in the aftermath of June’s devastating floods that saw a wave of sewage sweep into more than 150 homes, causing hundreds of thousands of pounds in damage.

The floods, which were the second in as many years, pushed up insurance premiums so high that many households are unable to afford protection.

Thames Water would not confirm the number of compensation claims it paid out, but it is understood that residents were offered around £200 – a figure many have branded an “insult”. 

Friday’s walkabout represents a thaw in relations between residents and the utility giant.

Engineers collec­ted data ahead of a plan to develop a computer programme which will model the run-off of water into drainage systems during per­iods of heavy rainfall.

Historically, the problem has affected around two square miles of land stretching from Little Venice and Kilburn.

Julia Neal, head of Maida Flood Action, is hopeful a permanent solution is now in sight. 

She said: “This now shows they are taking us seriously. Before, there is no doubt they simply didn’t care. But on Friday they were very professional. 

“More needs to be done, this is just the beginning, but now I am confident they are going to use the data, come back again, and collect more data and work out a solution to this problem. They will need to look at the drains, because at the moment, it looks like they just can’t cope.”

Ms Neal is urging residents to co-operate with Thames Water amid growing concern that any surveys could have a negative effect on property prices. 

Lawrence Turner, a partner at the Maida Vale Insurance Bureau on Malvern Road, said: “It’s a fact that many people have been unable to afford flood insurance, especially those in ground-floor and basement properties and a lot of companies aren’t even offering it to people here. Some roads are worse than others but on average excesses are now set around £5,000 as a direct result of the June floods.”

Maida Flood Action are being supported by the Conservative parliamentary candidate for Westminster North, Joanne Cash, who has taken up residents’ concerns dir­ectly with Thames Water. She said: “We must keep the pressure on to ensure residents don’t have to live in fear of being flooded every time it rains.”

Thames Water will return to meet officials at Westminster City Council in May, and report back on their findings.

A spokeswoman for Thames Water said: “This was very useful and gave us an opportunity to collect further information to feed into our plans to tackle the problem. 

“We will present our findings and proposed solutions at a meeting with the council and residents at the end of May. 

“We are desperate to end the misery of sewer flooding which is a truly horrible experience.”