Thames Water abandons mains works

4:54pm Tuesday 1st April 2008

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Thames Water has confirmed it is halting its mains replacement project in Wandsworth - leaving many roads unfinished.

The water company began major work last year to replace Victorian water mains in Wandsworth Common, Earlsfield, and Battersea, which have caused several leaks in the borough.

At the time it said Wandsworth had "some of the oldest, leakiest pipes in London" and the benefits "would be felt for years to come".

But this week, after replacing 12.5km of mains, it said: "We are reviewing the programme to ensure we target our resources on the areas which are worst affected, and have decided to focus on tackling areas of London where our leakage saving work can be more productive."

Work has been decommissioned in several roads, leaving ageing water mains still in place, and Thames Water said there were no plans at present to return to the area.

Wandsworth Council said this week: "We expect them to come back and finish their programme of works in this borough as soon as they have completed these other more urgent priorities.

"We will be keeping a close eye on their activities to make sure there is absolutely no delay in them returning to finish what they've started."

The news follows a project dogged by delays and complaints, with dozens of residents frustrated by work starting months behind schedule, "neverending" roadworks, and large holes in the road left unattended for weeks.

On several occasions parking spaces outside people's homes were suspended for roadworks, but, after struggling to find a new space, they were bewildered to see no work take place.

Wandsworth Council charged a fee for the parking bay suspensions, and Thames Water admitted this was "a factor" in its decision to halt work.

The council said: "We have a policy of charging all utilities for parking suspensions to make sure they complete their works as quickly as possible and cause the least amount of inconvenience to residents. This obviously means it makes financial sense for them to finish their works as quickly as possible."

A Thames Water spokesperson said: "It is inevitable with a project of this scale that delays can occur, however we would like to reassure residents that every effort has been made to start on time and avoid inconvenience."