Residents in a West London riverside estate may be forced to fork out £820,000 in order to rebuild a small wall near their homes.
Inhabitants of Carrara Wharf, in Fulham, have been told by the Environment Agency that it will cost £8.2 million to repair a nearby flood defence. Not only that, but they are expected to foot 10 per cent of the bill between them.
They say that they have been told they have to cough up due to an old law known as the Metropolis Management Amendment Act 1879. And the 89 households living there are not happy, reports MyLondon.
Mandy, who did not want to give her surname, lives metres from the wall. She said: “How do you spend £8 million on a small wall? It’s just ridiculous.
“How can they justify that money? You are constantly pricing people out of London by putting these liabilities in.
“They are using a 143-year-old act to charge everybody that lives nearby. Just because it’s at the edge of our property doesn’t mean it’s our wall.”
The Environment Agency will pay for 90 per cent of the cost and the Cararra Wharf management group has been asked to pay the remaining 10 per cent. But this could still leave residents with a bill of £9,213 on average.
A site inspection of the area in 2017 discovered that the wall would not be able to protect the nearby flats from flooding and that something would need to be done. Although residents were first given several options with different costs, the Environment Agency has said an £8.2million upgrade for the wall is the only option.
Dina, who also did not want to give her second name, lives metres from Carrara Wharf. She said: “Can you imagine you buy a property and after 10 or 15 years someone just turns up one day and asks you to pay up?”
Carrara Wharf residents were even more confused by the huge cost after discovering similar work on a council-owned section of wall at Furnivall Gardens cost £28,000. But residents are not just worried about the £10,000 payment – they are concerned that if they pay up they will then be responsible for any future repairs, and they could have to pay for more flood defences in the years to come.
The issue has also made it harder for residents to sell their homes. Since there is uncertainty around the wall, buyers are being put off.
Resident Alan Barker said: “I think it could devalue my flat by about 25 per cent. It could take 50 per cent off my house price – I just don’t know.
“It’s not just the £10,000 now, it could be £10,000 a year for the rest of my life. I could try and sell the property, but I wouldn’t get much because [the house would come with a very pricey wall].”
Mandy said: “Would people really buy homes near the Thames if they were aware that at will the EA could approach developments at any time and impose such onerous conditions of imposing multi-million pound liabilities?”
The repairs to the flood wall are part of the Thames Estuary 2100 Plan, which sets out how to protect London from tidal flooding. The project protects more than 1.4 million people and £320billion worth of property.
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