A firefighter in Hornsey Road earlier this year

THAMES Water bosses faced an uncomfortable grilling at the Town Hall as residents, business owners and politicians vented their disappointment and frustration at the suffering caused by a recent spate of leaks and floods.

Islington North MP Jeremy Corbyn was among those to question Simon Moore, the company’s head of London planning, and Martin Padley, the director of London water, on Thursday night.

Residents from Hornsey Road, Offord Road and Holloway Road demanded a response to a series of woes caused by Thames Water pipes that burst over the summer.

Umit Yeter, a shop owner on Hornsey Road, said his business was “completely destroyed by the flooding”.

“This incident was really big, it [destroyed] whole businesses on Hornsey Road, and all the residents’ [homes], so it’s like a ghost town on Hornsey Road, and we don’t know when it’s going to be back to normal,” he said.

Mr Yeter called on the water company to take proactive action.

“When the flooding happens, we don’t want to know what Thames Water does as a response, we want to know what Thames Water is doing before all of these incidents happen,” he said.

Mr Moore said that it would take a “crystal ball” to anticipate the sites of the leaks, but this was widely rejected by councillors and residents, who pointed out floods often repeatedly occurred in the same areas of the borough.

Caedmon Road was submerged over the summer

The company was also criticised for running 18 months behind schedule on works to upgrade pipes in Finsbury Park.

Bunhill councillor Phil Graham also said the company had made little progress on replacing the borough’s pipes since their last meeting in 2020.

“The only progress you’ve made from two years ago, is you’ve changed the numbers [of replaced pipes] from fractions to percentages. There’s been no advancement whatsoever,” Cllr Graham said.

Both Thames Water delegates struck a conciliatory tone throughout the meeting, repeatedly apologising.

“I’m broken and I’m insulted,” said Dionne Duncan, an Offord Road resident, who has experienced three major household floods in the last nine years following burst pipes.

“I’m not doing very well after the third flood,” she said.

Ms Duncan described a series of substandard repairs by the company that had been contracted by Thames Water to fix her home, and said she was “still quibbling” with the contractors over certain repairs.

After hearing Ms Duncan’s story, Mr Yeter said: “Now I’m worried for myself, for my neighbouring businesses and the local community: are they going to be going through the same things?”

The recent floods are the latest in a long list of Thames Water bursts that have impacted Finsbury Park, Angel, Barnsbury, and Caledonian Road in the past decade or so.

Mr Corbyn testified to the “horrendous” effects of the most recent flood in Hornsey Road.

Gardens in Devonia Road after flooding in 2016

“This was in my view a wholly predictable event,” he said, highlighting a burst water main in Isledon Road that caused a “massive flood” several years ago.

The former leader of the Labour Party said the history of repeated bursts led him to “the inescapable conclusion that Thames Water are simply not investing enough in maintaining the infrastructure.

“The next catastrophe… are we going to see a loss of life because of this?” he asked.

“My personal view is your company pays far too much to far too few people, [and] pays far too much out in dividends.”

Mr Padley said Thames Water now have more repair teams on the ground than ever before, adding that this year’s hot summer had exacerbated “ground movement”, increasing the likelihood of leaks. He said his company had also invested in an improved pump system to reduce stress on Islington’s pipes.

Among other promises, the company also pledged to improve their communication with the Town Hall, and work closely with the community to resolve issues highlighted during the meeting.

Last night (Thursday), following a motion put forward by Arsenal councillor Finn Craig in her maiden speech, the council voted overwhelmingly in favour of bringing water back into public ownership.