Islington News: Barnsbury | Compensation | Flood Damage | Burst Water Main

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Islington Tribune - by EMMANUELLA FRANCIS
Published: 16 January 2009

Flooding in Caledonian Road

Traders: Who will pay for our flood damage?

Shopkeepers count cost of lost business and stock after water main bursts

ANGRY shopkeepers in Barnsbury were demanding compensation this week for damage caused by a burst water main in Caledonian Road.
Shops near Copenhagen Street lost trade and stock as a result of the flooding.
Peter Gardner, owner of Gardner & Finch Butcher, said: “When I came in to work on Monday morning, the front of my shop was completely flooded. I couldn’t open the shop.”
The water leaked down into the basement of his shop, causing electrical damage and completely flooding the floor.
“I lost a lot of stock because of that,” he said. “My fridges are completely empty in the basement. I want to know who is going to pay for this damage and compensate me for loss of stock.”
A few doors along at Cali Food and Wine, Ram and Devi Odedra were asking the same question.
Mr Odedra said: “I opened the shop on Saturday morning and by 10am gallons of water had pumped out of the conduit onto the shop front. I immediately called Thames Water but they advised me it would take eight to ten hours for the emergency crew to respond.
“We used to get a lot of flooding around here because the gullies always got blocked and they used to clear them quite often but not anymore.”
They put down bread racks for the few customers to stand on and took food to elderly customers waiting outside.
In the cold snap, stretches of the water began to ice over, causing a potential hazard for pedestrians. The water was pumped out and drains unblocked by council workers early on Tuesday morning.
Labour councillor James Murray said: “I spoke to Thames Water because I thought they are the best people to deal with this sort of problem. They informed me they would take 12 hours to respond to this emergency and were really dragging their feet.
“I told the council and they eventually cleared the water and unblocked the drains.
“It is the council’s job to keep drains clear. They were inundated with calls over the weekend. That said, it’s not a good excuse. It’s the responsibility of the council to attend to the problems of residents.”

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