Ongoing Thames Water maintenance, and a series of burst pipes following freezing temperatures during Storm Goretti, has caused widespread disruption across our community.

The significant impact on residents, local businesses and access to essential services has been severe.

Thames Water’s attendance to the burst pipes has meant that major roads across Chingford such as Kings Road, Station Road, Forest Side, Old Church Road, Hall Lane, and Larkshall Road have been shut down for extended periods.

Traffic management and bus diversions have therefore been put in place, resulting in significant traffic congestion with residents’ daily commutes being significantly delayed.

Severe burst pipes, most notably on King’s Road, E4, led to significant disruption, including power outages.

As a result, both the Infant Site on Kings Road and the Junior Site on Cambridge Road of Chingford Church of England School were forced to close due to loss of water supply. Thames Water later supplied a tanker to Chingford Foundation School, allowing the school to reopen.

Iain Duncan Smith has spoken to Thames Water following recent disruptions caused by burst water pipes (Image: Richard Townshend)

I fully recognise that maintenance and emergency repairs are necessary, particularly following extreme weather.

However, residents have raised concerns about poor communication, unclear completion dates and work sites that have caused road closures being left unattended for long periods.

This issue needs to be addressed, a point I made when I met the management team at Thames Water, including chief executive, Chris Weston and water director Martin Padley.

I have raised the issue of how Thames Water can mitigate disruption of work sites across Chingford.

While I welcome Mr Weston’s acknowledgement of the disruption caused to residents, I stressed the need for safeguarding measures to prevent this situation from recurring during future periods of extreme temperatures.

Thames Water has since recognised the underlying condition of the water network across Chingford and Woodford Green, and following our meeting, sections of Kings Road, Larkshall Road and Forest Side have been identified for targeted mains replacement as part of a wider investment programme.

I am pleased that, following my intervention, Thames Water has committed to this planned investment to improve the resilience of pipes and reduce the likelihood of the repeat failures recently experienced by residents.

Thames Water must now act decisively. I am pleased they have committed to sharing clearer timelines for future works, and I will continue to hold them to account to ensure repairs are completed swiftly.

  • Iain Duncan Smith is Conservative MP for Chingford and Woodford Green.