Residents in Castlemead Estate are fearful of a ‘winter of discontent’ as their water supply is shut off for the second time this month.
Both the hot and cold water supply for the blocks off Camberwell Road had gone on Monday morning for the second time this month – the first being just a few weeks ago on September 9.
Smeaton Court, Pennack Road, Emberton, and Harding Close have also all lost their hot water at time of writing, according to the Southwark Council website. Residents have been provided with drinking water and offered a place to shower in Elephant and Castle.
John Scahill, 60, raised concerns about his mother, who is 87 and living in Castlemead. “We’ve had to heat water up on the stove just so she can wash,” he said. “Last winter the heating went off frequently. I understand that accidents can happen, but when it’s this regular you have to wonder what the problem is. There are vulnerable people in this building who are now facing a winter of discontent, so to speak.”
District Heating: Southwark Council to spend £25 million a year by 2025
John also argued that the communication from the council had been unhelpful, saying he had emailed the council immediately on Monday morning and had yet to receive a response.
He added: “I’ve had to come to Southwark News just to be heard. There’s no point Keir Starmer in Brighton saying that the Tory government is doing this and that, when right here a Labour council is letting this happen.”
Southwark Council confirmed the basement boiler house had flooded after a temporary boiler connection blew overnight, leading to the mains water booster pumps losing power. ?This is now being fixed while longer term improvements are being assessed. Cabinet Member for housing Stephanie Cryan said: “It’s been really hard for residents to deal with the water issues at Castlemead, and we apologise for the inconvenience. We’re speaking to residents to support and talk them through the next steps we need to take to ensure it doesn’t happen again.”