Flood victims demand answers after not being allowed to return home over a month later

By Hannah Neary, local democracy reporter

Residents whose properties were ravaged by floods are calling for more support from officials as they remain unable to return home.

Maida Vale residents claim they have been left in the dark by Thames Water and Westminster City Council after their homes were destroyed when nearby drains flooded on July 12.

Danny Briottet and his family are still living in a B&B after their two-storey home in Maida Vale was flooded.

He said residents have received little to no support from authorities and live in fear that their homes will be flooded again.

He explained: “We’re still trying to find out what actually happened… I don’t understand why the drainage system didn’t work.

“We had a month’s worth of rain in an hour and then it stopped.

“Thames Water hasn’t been very co-operative but that’s what happens when you sell the utilities off I guess, there’s no real accountability there.

“I hope the insurance companies will be helpful because we need our places put back as they were.”

He has been told it will take three months to fix the home where he has lived for eight years after it pooled with half a metre of black water.

He continued: “Now when it rains you think ‘I’d better go home in case it gets flooded’.

“Everybody is worried and no remedial works have been done as far as I know.

“It was a freak event but the way the world is now – it was probably global warming or climate change that caused it so what’s to say it can’t happen again?”

Danny wants Thames Water and the council to meet with residents face-to-face and discuss what happened.

He said: “It really shouldn’t happen in the middle of London.

“A lot more needs to be done – the council aren’t really contacting us, nothing much seems to be happening.

“They really need to let us know why it happened and if it’s not going to happen again.

“You can’t compare this to Grenfell in a million years but it seems like it’s the same kind of culture within the councils in London where nothing really ever happens and nobody is really accountable.

“We still haven’t had answers for Grenfell, no heads have rolled.

“On a smaller scale you’ve got this where people have lost so much and people have been terrified, made ill by it.”

Maida Vale resident Laura Brown has been unable to return to her basement level property with her husband and two teenage children.

She said Westminster Council took days to remove damaged items piled outside her home and charged her twice for council tax for the family home and the property she currently lives in.

A lettings consultant for Hamptons Maida Vale said the company saw a rise in demand for 12-month lettings over the last month and they are still getting enquiries from affected people who want short-term lettings.

Laura said demand for short-term lets sky-rocketed in Maida Vale immediately after the floods as residents struggled to find somewhere to stay.

She said: “There were bidding wars for flats and rentals and nobody wanted to rent to you because you don’t know how long you’ll be there for.

“I just thought ‘I have to get my kids a place to live and a desk’. They had no clean dry shoes.”

The flooding destroyed Laura’s electrical appliances, wedding album, furniture and her daughter’s A-Level books.

She thinks it will be a year before the family can return to the home they have lived in for the last 20 years.

A spokesperson for Thames Water said it sympathises with those affected by the flooding and has supported customers by cleaning-up homes and helping with insurance claims.

They said the flooding is a reminder of the impacts of climate change and the heavy rainfall on July 12 went beyond the limits of the authority’s drainage capacity.

Thames Water added that investigations so far have not found evidence of a failure that would have significantly contributed to the flooding but an independent investigation will take place in the next few months.

A Westminster City Council spokesperson said the authority is committed to supporting those affected by the floods and is providing council tax relief to anyone who cannot live in their home as a result.

They added: “We understand how difficult it has been for many and our parking marshals are taking this into consideration in affected areas.”

They also said the council held a virtual meeting with from Thames Water and local housing associations shortly after the floods with 220 people in attendance.

The authority will also hold a statutory investigation looking at how future incidents are dealt with.

If residents have any furniture or other items affected by the floods to dispose of they can call the environmental action line on 020 7641 2000

The council will consider applications for council tax hardship relief for periods when properties are uninhabitable.

To apply, visit westminstercounciltax1@secure.capita.co.uk