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Camden News - by CHARLOTTE CHAMBERS
Published: 20 November 2008

Residents on the Oxenholme block were left without water, electricity and flushing toilets

Residents on the Oxenholme block (right) were left without water, electricity and flushing toilets

No water, no electricity: chaos of building bungle

Dozens of families moved to hotel as council steps in to mop up

A BUILDING blunder has left residents of a council tower block living in chaos for the past five days.
Electricity cables at Oxenholme block on the Ampthill Square estate were broken by a workman’s digger on Thursday night. It led to a surge in water pressure that sent cascades of water flowing down the 19-storey building and causing thousands of pounds worth of damage.
The 79 families living in the Oxenholme block were plunged into darkness and until yesterday (Wednesday) they were without water and electricity, meaning no flushing toilets, no showers, no radio and no TV.
Tenants said Camden had done the best it could for them, offering free accommodation at the Holiday Inn and giving them £50 a day to cover their expenses.
Around 45 families took advantage of the hotel offer while others stayed with relatives.
The power was switched back on at the final clutch of houses in the block near Mornington Crescent Tube station yesterday, and attention was turned to what went wrong, and why.
Housing bosses said contractors Apollo would cover all costs and promised to launch an investigation.
Acting director of housing Michael Scorer said: “I don’t underestimate what an inconvenient and trying time it’s been for everyone.
“It’s a very bad incident but we’ve tried to put it right. It does seem to be sheer bad luck, but Apollo are obviously unwittingly but nevertheless responsible – we’ll be making sure it’s not the taxpayer who pays for this.”
The refurbishment project on the estate has overrun by a year and is over budget by between £1.5million and £4m – the exact figure is disputed.
It has left residents living alongside a building site for far longer than they bargained.
Fran Heron, a tenant leader on the estate, described this weekend as a “nightmare” that left residents feeling like they were living “in a bombed-out building in Beirut without the heat”.
Another resident, David West, said he felt Camden had treated them as “second-class citizens”.
He added: “What really annoys me is that they then send you harassment letters saying ‘You weren’t in when we called’ – it’s a mess,” he said. “If we were all related to the Royal Family it would be a lot better.”
He said he worried most for the elderly people living on the top floors who, without a lift, were trapped in their homes.
Works on the site are due to be completed next February.
Mr Scorer praised Apollo for being “sensible and getting on with it” but warned that he “reserved the right to take a different view” should investigations reveal otherwise.

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