Hundreds of residents forced to leave homes after ‘catastrophic’ leak in new-build

More than 400 residents have been forced to leave their flats for at least six months after a “catastrophic infrastructure failure” in their new-build.

Property company Get Living welcomed the first tenants to its Filigree development in Link Way, Lewisham, last summer.

But only months into their tenancies, they have been forced to move out of the housing complex after a “catastrophic failure” of a mains water pipe – which powers three buildings – on February 27.

The incident caused significant flooding in the basement, cutting water and power from all of the homes.

A spokeswoman from Get Living said: “In countless calls with residents, we hear first hand all the individual circumstances that people are having to navigate and as such, how we can support them during this time, is our absolute focus as a business.

“We feel for the plight of residents, who through this catastrophic infrastructure failure, are placed in a position of uncertainty, frustration and disruption.

“It is the very last thing they deserve and the very last thing we would have wanted any of those, who chose to make their home through us, to be put through.”

Get Living is funding temporary accommodation for affected tenants up to April 23, but residents have now been told that repair work could take between six to 12 months before flats are “habitable again”.

This will follow the completion of an ongoing assessment of the extent of the damage, expected to take four to eight weeks, meaning tenants will have to find their own accommodation.

The spokeswoman said: “We are in discussion with Muse, the developer, and Balfour Beatty, the main contractor, who together delivered the scheme. 

“For now, our residents remain our absolute top priority and we are seeking to lessen the unavoidable disruption for them as much as possible during this time.

“We are sharing regular updates to ensure residents have the latest information as it becomes available.” 

Pictured top: The incident caused significant flooding in the basement, cutting water and power from all of the homes in the Filigree development in Link Way, Lewisham (Picture: Google Street View)